Disabled son shot in ‘encounter’, father took cops to court: 15 yrs later, life in jail for 15

From Dadra village under the Chakar Nagar police station of Etawah district, Singh said his fight was not just against a few policemen, but against the system.

“I made it my mission to see the guilty policemen behind bars,” he said. “That’s the only thing I wanted to see before my eyes shut forever.”

The family’s entanglement in violence has made Buddha lose three of his five sons — the third was Raj Narain, killed by the police. Buddha says it all began when he sent his two younger sons, Ram Kumar and Rajiv Kumar, to study at the government polytechnic in Datia, Madhya Pradesh. They lived in a rented room there but one day, Rajiv, then 20, was killed, allegedly by members of a family living opposite them.

Buddha Singh says his other son Ram Kumar tried to get a case lodged but was turned away. Frustrated, he killed two members of the family he wanted booked. After that, he took to arms and established a gang that came to be known as the dreaded TNT gang. It let loose a reign of terror across the Chambal in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

“I wanted to make them engineers,” said Buddha Singh. “I didn’t know I’d lose them forever.”

The death of the disabled Raj Narain at the hands of police is linked to the hunt for Ram Kumar. In 1992, the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh police decided to work together against the gang, and on January 22, a team led by SHO Girivar Giri, SIs Jai Narain and Saligram and PAC platoon commander Ram Prakash reached Dadra in search of Ram Kumar.

“They thrashed people in our village, asking where Ram Kumar was,” said Buddha Singh. “They found Sua Baba, who was disabled, herding cattle in a field. He said he didn’t know where his brother was. They fired several rounds at him and threw his body in the Chambal. His body was never found. The next morning, villagers found his monkey cap and rudraksh mala near the river bank.”

Later, police said in their case papers that Raj Narain was an active member of the Ram Kumar gang. About a month later, Ram Kumar was gunned down by Madhya Pradesh police while on way to Bhind.

But Buddha Singh wouldn’t give up. He wanted justice for Raj Narain. Cutting down on daily needs, the family put all the money it could into the legal battle.

“I also took help from brothers, relatives, all of whom extended all possible support,” he said. “My cousin Vijay Narain has some advocate friends, who gave me legal advice and prepared all the documents without charging any fees. Vijay also took the matter to then UP chief minister Kalyan Singh, after which the inquiry was handed to the Crime Branch CID, which found the policemen guilty.”

He said the years of legal battle were really difficult, as the police team had created such terror in the village that no one wanted to talk about the incident.

“They wouldn’t let people leave the village without checks, so that no one could take documents or letters or any paperwork related to the encounter,” said Buddha Singh. “Policemen would also pressurise villagers to come and convince me to withdraw the case.”

Buddha Singh did not budge.

This September 12, besides the three officers, the 12 constables in the team that raided Dadra also got life terms.