A trainee Sub-Inspector (SI) posted with Gautam Budh Nagar district police, who allegedly shot at two men in Sector-122 area in Noida, has been sent to jail, officials said on Sunday.
Three other policemen, who accompanied the SI during the Saturday incident, were suspended with an FIR registered against them. But the district police officers termed the shooting a case of personal enmity and not a staged encounter as claimed by victims’ family members.
Jitendra Yadav, who owned a shoe store and a gym, was allegedly shot on the neck by SI Vijay Darshan. The businessman is admitted to Noida’s Fortis Hospital and is said to be highly critical. Sunil, who was travelling with Jitendra, sustained injuries on his leg and is under treatment.
Incidentally, the “encounter” happened days after an altercation between the accused policemen and the victim. According to sources, the accused policemen had come to Jitendra’s shoe store a few days ago and they had refused to pay for the shoes, leading to an altercation.
Amid allegations of caste-related targeted encounter, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) love Kumar said preliminary enquiry found gross misuse of power by the police party. “The service revolver of the SI who fired the shots was seized. During the probe, it was found that the SI knew the elder brother of the man who was shot at,” said the SSP. Jitendra’s family member Vajeshni Yadav alleged that local police officials have taken to targeting young men in the area to get promotion.
“We are farmers, not criminals. Police cannot just hound us”, he said.
“We were returning home from an engagement ceremony in Berhampur, in nearby Ghaziabad in Jitendra’s car. My elder brother, uncle and two friends were in the car.
“It was around 10.30 pm when they had reached Noida’s Sector- 122. They were stopped by four police personnel who were in a jeep. They started hitting and abusing Jitendra without any provocation”, Vajeshni said. Before we could react, the SI whipped out a pistol and placed it on the neck of Jitendra and shot him, Vajehshni said.
The shooting evoked sharp reactions in the area as victim’s family accused police of caste bias. Further action will be initiated once the investigation is complete, the SSP said.