The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the state Government to release monetary help to two victims of police excesses and also initiate stern action against the guilty cops.
The NHRC has asked the Government to pay Rs 5 lakh as monetary relief in a fake encounter case.
Setting aside the Government contention that the encounter was genuine as per the magisterial inquiry report and the investigation by the CB CID, the NHRC has recommended payment of Rs 5 lakh as monetary relief to the next of kin of Rakesh aka Chache, who was killed by police in Aligarh on February 11, 2009.
On the basis of the material on record, the NHRC observed that “Rakesh may have been a hardened criminal but the police did not have a licence to kill him in an extra-judicial manner”.
The Chief Secretary of the state has been given eight weeks’ time to submit the compliance report along with proof of payment.
The NHRC took cognisance of the incident on the basis of a telegraphic complaint from Viresh about the killing of his younger brother Rakesh.
Subsequently, another complaint was received from his mother. She alleged that her son was picked up by the police from the house of his relative on February 10, 2009 in the presence of her daughter and that she had gone to the Sasani Gate police station in Aligarh along with four persons and had seen Rakesh in the lock-up.
However, during the inquiry, the police claimed that on February 11, 2009, the Special Operation Group (SOG) in-Charge had received a secret information that two criminals were standing with a motorcycle in front of the Mazar Gate of Civil Court. On seeing the police approach them, they started the motorcycle and sped towards Jamalpur. The pillion rider fired at the chasing police party and the bullet hit the police jeep. The police retaliated the fire in self-defence. After some time, the police found a criminal lying injured, who was identified as Rakesh alias Chache. He was sent to the hospital but was pronounced dead. A constable, who had a firearm wound on his right hand, was also sent to hospital for treatment.
However, the NHRC found that no record was produced of the flash message received by the SOG from Police Control Room and no photograph was taken of the police vehicle allegedly hit by the bullet. Moreover, the vehicle was sent for mechanical inspection on March 13, 2009, more than a month after the incident. The sister of the deceased was not examined and the later part of the statement of his mother reiterating her allegations about the fake encounter was completely ignored by the CB CID. Besides, the CB CID also did not examine those who had accompanied the deceased’s mother to the police station. Moreover, the medical record of JN Medical College, where the injured constable was taken for treatment, was not seized by the CB CID.
According to the police version, Rakesh was injured in exchange of fire. However, the post-mortem revealed blackening in three firearm wounds on the chest of the deceased.
The injured constable had made improvement in his statement given to the magistrate while deposing before the CB CID by saying that after JN Medical College, he was admitted to Varun Hospital for better treatment.
However, there was not a word about the admission of the constable concerned in Varun Hospital either in the FIR or during the magisterial enquiry. It appeared that the story of admission of the constable to Varun Hospital was subsequently thought of.
Even if the discharge slip of Varun Hospital were to be believed, the constable was hit by the bullet on his right forearm and the bullet passed through and through.
Yet he testified before the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) during the magisterial inquiry that he had signed the ‘fard’.
The NHRC, therefore, was unable to understand as to how a person who had received a bullet injury on the right forearm a short while earlier could have signed the ‘fard’. The Commission found the police version of the incident non-credible and the CB CID investigation report unacceptable.
In the second case, the NHRC directed the government to pay Rs 3 lakh to Sanjay Sharma, an innocent who was wrongfully confined to prison by an erring police officer in Ferozabad district.
Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan has been asked to submit a compliance report along with proof of payment within six weeks in this case too. He has also been directed to submit the action taken report against the then station officer against whom departmental proceedings of ‘censure’ were held by the NHRC to be too inadequate.
Reports said that Sanjay Sharma was arrested under the Gangsters Act in Ferozabad, on October 3, 2009 and sent to jail for trial. He continued to incarcerate in jail for more than 24 months.
In the meantime, human rights activist RH Bansal approached the NHRC on August 27, 2011 and sought its intervention for Sanjay’s release and monetary relief to him for his human rights violation besides action against the guilty police personnel.
The Commission had issued a notice to the Senior Superintendent of Police of Ferozabad on September 1, 2011.
Subsequent to this, post reminder notices and conditional summons were issued to the SSP. A report dated June 22, 2012 was submitted to the NHRC by the SP of Ferozabad, informing the Commission that the victim was indeed wrongfully arrested and on submission of an inquiry report regarding this before the court, he was released from jail on October 13, 2011. The SP pointed out that departmental proceedings for ‘censure’ had been initiated against the then station officer of South Ferozabad police station.
As per material on record, the NHRC found that the police were looking for another accused named Santosh aka Sanjay Yadav (48), a native of linepar in Ferozabad. But instead of him, Sanju aka Sanjay Sharma (20), hailing from Theater Wali Gali in linepar, was arrested on October 3, 2009.
The Commission observed that the then station officer of South Ferozabad police station had knowingly arrested a wrong person as the real accused was 48 years old whereas the victim was only 20 years of age and there was discernible difference in the addresses of the two persons and because of him the victim had to remain in jail for two years for no fault of his.
The Commission said this was a gross violation of Sanjay’s human rights. It recommended that the Government should pay Rs 3 lakh as monetary relief to the victim.
In its communication to the state Government, the NHRC has said that the matter should be reported to the Allahabad High Court for necessary corrective steps, so that an innocent man should not remain in illegal custody as an undertrial prisoner for such a long time.
The Commission observed that it was surprising that the court concerned did not ascertain the identity of the accused whenever he was remanded from time to time during the course of hearing.