An interim application has been filed in the plea seeking investigation in the alleged encounter of gangster Vikas Dubey's 5 co-accused with the view of putting on record the vital and relevant information or facts made available to the petitioner. The application called the 'theory of the so-called encounter' given by the police 'entirely fake, bogus and concocted'.
The petitioner is now seeking investigation against the high echelons of the State administrator and the suspension of those police officers who were involved in the encounter.
Advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay had filed this petition. The IA says that since the Apex Court on 14th July expressed an inclination to pass an order along the lines of the Telangana Encounter Case wherein a committee was constituted for investigation of the incident. The petitioner feels that it is essential to bring to the notice of the Court certain information that has been revealed.
1: The 8 policemen were killed with their own AK-47 rifle.
- The long-standing enmity between Vikas Dubey and Circle Officer Devendra Mishra (now deceased) was referred to in the IA, it is stated that Mishra had conspired to eliminate Dubey in an encounter on the night between 2nd and 3rd July and had a team of 35 policemen carrying weapons like AK-47, Insas Rifles, 9MM pistols under the pretext of conducting search and possibly arresting Dubey.
- The application states that 99% of the policemen in Uttar Pradesh do not possess the required skills to operate the AK-47 rifles since only those policemen are given training to operate the AK-47 rifles who attend the Armed Training College at Sitapur and those who are posted in the Naxalite and terrorist areas. CO Devendra Mishra and the other 35 policemen too didn’t have the required skills to operate the AK-47 rifles.
- The IA further states that one of the policemen mishandled the rifle before the planned encounter could take place and resultantly the policeman died, including the CO whose leg was cut. The police, to cover up their own misdeed placed the complete blame on gangster Dubey.
2: Narrative by the police and its analysis
- The IA narrates the theory given by the police relating it with Dubey already being aware of the planned encounter and hence making sure that his aides hid in the neighbouring houses to attack the policemen when they arrived.
3: If the procedures in the case of such operations were adhered to by CO Devendra Mishra
- The IA states that had CO Devendra Mishra followed the mandatory procedures like keeping an entry in the General Diary/ Station Diary about the operation, briefed before the operation, strategically planned the operation using maps and sketches of the place along with geographical knowledge, the documents/ evidences would have helped in figuring out the CO's plan to eliminate Dubey.
4: Reservations with the investigation being carried out, and suspicions regarding the versions given by the police about the incident
- As per the IA, Mishra exercising powers within Section 36 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and keeping the investigation officer and officer-in-charge out of it should be noted.
In the past 7 years no F.I.R. was lodged against Dubey and he was not given any notice to join the investigation. Therefore, conducting a raid at his premises with a team of 35 policemen, in the middle of the night, was not justified.
The IA also points towards the fact that one of the co-accused of Dubey killed in the raid was only 16 years old.
Another point raised in the IA was that the demolition of Dubey’s property was done without any order from the Court of law. It was merely done to destroy the evidences and CCTV footage/ recording boxes which were installed in the house and had probably recorded the death of the 8 policemen.
Further, Dubey had revealed his identity and surrendered to the Madhya Pradesh police publicly so there was no reason for him to escape from the custody of multiple police, while the vehicle was surrounded by other police vans.
The media people following the police team during transit were stopped by the police from proceeding further just before Dubey was killed.
The IA states that 6126 encounters have taken place under the administration of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the State administration treats them as matters of pride and achievement, while the police has been abusing their powers and taking law in their own hands. Such barbaric police action cannot be tolerated since they defy democracy, rule of law and criminal justice delivery system.
With reference to the above, the IA prays for an in-depth investigation by a Judicial Commission or SIT appointed by the Apex Court, since it’s possible that the whole state machinery is involved in the alleged encounter.
A day before the alleged encounter of gangster Vikas Dubey, Advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay had filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking an investigation in the killing of his 5 co-accused by the Uttar Pradesh Police. The petition also hinted at possible killing of the gangster.
The matter was listed to be heard on 20th July.
