Encounter: Haryana village questions Delhi cops claims

Until Tuesday,Rakesh Kumar was one of them. All the runners aim to pass the physical examination needed to enter the police force.

Every evening,on the state highway leading from Bahadurgarh to Ladrawan village in Haryana,a group of young men in their twenties can be seen running,often together and sometimes alone,to seemingly nowhere in particular.

Until Tuesday,Rakesh Kumar was one of them. All the runners aim to pass the physical examination needed to enter the police force. On Wednesday,however,no one ran. Their inspiration seemed to have died after news broke that Kumar had been killed in an encounter by personnel of the force he wanted to join.

Kumar was shot dead by Delhi Police Wednesday during an operation to nab Manoj Morkheriya,one of Delhis most wanted criminals. Police said Morkheriya,who was arrested after the operation,had four associates. Of them,Vivek and Praveen were also arrested,Rinku reportedly escaped and Kumar was killed.

But Kumars family in Ladrawan rejects the allegation and says,dont call it an encounter,call it murder.

We will not deny that Rakesh knew Manoj,but he hated the man and avoided him all the time. Since last week Manoj had been coming to the village everyday,but Rakesh would find a way to avoid him, said Kumars father Puran Singh. On Wednesday morning,Manoj called on a locals number and made him give the phone to Rakesh. He then came to pick him up. Rakesh didnt want to go,but told the family that he was going to Bawana for a haircut and would return in half-an-hour. He never returned.

While the family also admits that Kumar had been accused in two murders,he was acquitted in both cases. There were two charges,both of which were false. One was in Haryana and one in Punjab. Both of them had been dismissed by the courts concerned. Why was he shot dead when he was an innocent man in the eyes of the law? What proof have they given to suggest that he was a criminal? Is simply knowing a wanted man a crime? asked Dr S K Chillar,a Ladrawan resident.

Reached for their comment,a senior Delhi Police officer said,We have not yet had the chance to contact the Punjab police,but the notion that he was acquitted in both cases is inaccurate. The murder charge in Rohtak,Haryana,was only in its trial stage,and no order has been passed.

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For the youth of Ladrawan,Kumars death in a shootout with the police is difficult to digest,given that he was a role model to many. Rakesh-bhaiyya had won many medals in wrestling at the national level. He won the bronze medal in the state wrestling championship in 2006,and then won gold in 2007. He also won bronze in the Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup. He would go to Chatrasal stadium in Delhi to practise,and would ask us to concentrate on wrestling. He was one of the few to complete college in Bahadurgarh,and now wanted to join the police. I dont believe that he was a criminal. I looked up to him, said Manish Rai,a 18-year-old from Ladrawan.

The villagers have come up with a list of questions for the Delhi administration and will present it to both the Haryana and the Delhi chief ministers. If this was really an encounter and so many rounds were fired,how were no policemen injured? If there was a massive police team,how did one other criminal get away? Rakesh was not given treatment on time,and the Delhi Police didnt even bother to contact us. We only heard it on the news. We want an impartial probe by the government,failing which by the CBI. This was murder,and we want justice. Otherwise we will launch a movement,stall traffic,and resort to dharnas. The village is united, said Puran Singh.