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Journalism of Courage
The UP Police’s lie has been nailed. The incident in which D-2 gang’s head, Rafiq, a Dawood aide, was killed on the night of April 24 this year was a fake encounter. Kanpur’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Vinay Kumar Mishra, who conducted a probe into the incident, which happened soon after Rafiq was brought to Kanpur from Kolkata on police remand, has said in his report that the gangster was eliminated by the police.
Mishra yesterday wrote to UP Chief Secretary Neera Yadav and Principal Secretary (Home) Alok Sinha, asking for a CBI probe into the matter. ‘‘I have also asked for lodging a case of murder against the policemen besides a departmental inquiry for disciplinary action,’’ Mishra told Newsline today.
The police, however, are sticking to their version that he was killed in an attack by a rival gang. ‘‘We have not learnt anything from the Metropolitan Magistrate or the government. We maintain that Rafiq was killed by some badmash. However, we will order a probe and disciplinary action if the government says so,’’ said DGP Yashpal Singh.
Mishra seems to have no doubts, going by his letter. ‘‘Yeh sari police ki gadi hui kahani hai. Pura jhooth ka pulinda hai (This is a fabricated story, a tissue of lies)…’’ he has written. ‘‘It’s for the first time in Uttar Pradesh that such a dreaded gangster carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head has been killed in police custody. The police are involved in this killing. Their role is grossly suspect.’’
Rafiq headed the D-2 gang which is wanted in over 250 criminals cases and had been ruling UP’s crime syndicate for over three decades.
On March 29, a Special Operations Group team of Kanpur Police had descended on a Kolkata area, Chattu Babu Lane, on receiving information that Rafiq was hiding there for the past six months.
The local police station was less than 150 metres away but they were kept in the dark. So, when these UP policemen in plain clothes and wielding AK-47s descended on the area, it gave the appearance of a terrorist attack. Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee was so annoyed that he didn’t let the UP Police take Rafiq away. Instead, the Kolkata Police lodged a case against Rafiq for possessing illegal arms.
A Kolkata court, meanwhile, asked UP Police for a production warrant from Kanpur’s CMM. So, the SOG returned to Kanpur empty-handed but finally got Rafiq in their custody on April 23. The delay, said SSP Kanpur P C Meena, had helped Rafiq’s associates flee.
Next day, Rafiq was killed in mysterious circumstances.
