12 cops booked for killing farmer: Crime Branch told to probe

“Directives have been issued to the Crime Branch cell that a proper investigation be conducted in this connection and action should be taken on the basis of the probe report. We are bound to follow the court’s directives and action will be taken on the basis of the findings in the investigation,” SSP Tada said.

Sources in the police said the procedure to suspend the 12 policemen has also been initiated,

The 12 accused policemen are Sub-Inspectors Yashpal Singh, Asgar Ali and Omveer Singh, Head Constable Sukhpal Singh, and constables Bharat Singh, Vipin Kumar, Pramod Kumar, Rajveer Singh (now retired), Neetu Yadav, Devendra Kumar (retired), Brijesh (retired) and Ankit Kumar.

Naqvi was killed at Theetki village in Saharanpur district on the night of September 5, 2021, after he was shot in his right leg during a police raid. Police said they had acted on a tip-off about cows being slaughtered in a forest near Theetki village and that Naqvi, who was allegedly present at the spot and was carrying a country-made pistol, accidentally shot himself in the leg while fleeing. Police also claimed to have recovered around 250 kg of cow carcasses from the site, besides tools that were allegedly used for slaughtering the animals.

Naqvi’s family, on the other hand, claimed that he was taken out of his home and killed.

In a written complaint filed on September 7, 2021, at the SSP office, Naqvi’s wife Afroz said, “My husband was home when police took him to a nearby field and killed him. I want justice for the killers of my husband.”

In February 22, Afroz approached the Allahabad High Court, following which the Lucknow bench directed the Saharanpur court to dispose of the case expeditiously.

“We want results. We want to see the guilty policemen put behind the bar. We have been fighting the case for a long time. The lodging of the FIR has given us the hope of justice. They have now handed over the probe to the Crime Branch,” Mehndi Hassan, the elder brother of Naqvi told The Indian Express over the phone.

Naqvi, an affluent farm, owned around 40 bighas of land at Theetki village. He was the cousin of Samajwadi Party leader and former minister Syed Isa Raza.