Hathras ‘encounter’ sparks row: Two cops suspended after kin of arrested men cry foul

Deputy Inspector General (Aligarh Range) Prabhakar Chaudhary said the families of the accused met him after which he ordered an inquiry into the case.

Their families alleged that the police picked up Deva and Omveer from their homes but later falsely showed their arrest in an ‘encounter’ on October 10, claiming that the two were caught during a cross-firing incident and Omveer sustained a bullet injury to his leg.

Following the alleged incident, the families, accompanied by several local public representatives, met senior police and administrative officials to raise their grievances. They also staged a protest outside the District Magistrate’s office and the Mursan police station in Hathras — where the case is lodged — demanding a fair investigation into the matter.

Superintendent of Police (Hathras) Chiranjeev Nath Sinha has suspended Station House Officer (SHO) Arti Singh of Mursan police station and Inspector Mukesh Kumar, in-charge of the Anti-Theft Team, on charges of negligence during the arrest proceedings of the two accused.

The SP has also transferred the investigation of the case to the Hathras Gate police station, to be conducted under the supervision of the Circle Officer (City).

Officials said District Magistrate, Hathras, Rahul Pandey, has constituted a committee headed by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate to look into the allegations.

In a parallel inquiry, DIG Chaudhary has directed the Additional Superintendent of Police, Aligarh, to conduct a separate probe into the matter.

SP Sinha said multiple inquiries have been ordered into the incident and that the department will await the findings of these reports before taking any further action.

Incidentally, the UP government recently released a report stating that over the past eight-and-a-half years, since it came to power in 2017, over 250 criminals were killed and over 10,000 injured in encounters.

The case

According to police, a local trader, Amit Agarwal, who runs a fertiliser shop in Hathras, had lodged a complaint on October 9, alleging that two unidentified men, their faces covered with scarves, forcibly entered his house and misbehaved with his family members — including women. When the family raised an alarm, the intruders fled.

A case was subsequently registered under charges of robbery, house trespass, and attempt to murder against the two unidentified accused.

Police officers said during the investigation, CCTV footage installed near Amit’s residence was examined, and, with the help of local informers, the two suspects were identified as Deva and Omveer.

Police launched efforts to trace and arrest the duo. Two days later, police arrested the accused in the alleged shootout.

According to police sources, the investigation also revealed that the accused were personally known to Amit and there was a financial dispute between them. “The complainant did not disclose this information to the police during the initial probe,” said a senior police officer.

The officer further added that the accused had allegedly gone to Amit’s house with ill intent. The two accused have no prior criminal background.