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Journalism of Courage
The Rajasthan High Court Friday asked former BJP minister and current party chief whip in the Assembly Rajendra Singh Rathore to surrender before a trial court or the CBI at the earliest. Rathore,main accused in the Dara Singh fake encounter case,was discharged on May 31 by the District and Sessions Judge in Jaipur as the trial court could not find material evidence to frame charges against him.
Following revision petitions filed by the CBI and Dara Singhs wife,Sushila Devi,the High Court set aside the lower courts order and asked Rathore to surrender.
Dara Singh,a local liquor smuggler,was killed in an alleged fake encounter in Jaipur on October 23,2006. The state Special Operations Group that was trying to arrest him claimed he fired at them and therefore had to be gunned down. The police chased him on foot and shot him near the Kamla Nagar flyover.
Justice Ajay Rastogi,who delivered the judgment on Friday,said the CBI was allowed to force Rathore to surrender if he did not willingly do so. According to the chargesheet filed by the CBI,Dara Singh was allegedly detained illegally by officials of the Special Operations Group,who took him to an isolated place near Amber and killed him. Rathore,who was then Parliamentary Affairs Minister,was arrested on April 5 this year for his alleged involvement in the killing.
Fourteen police officials including ADG A K Jain and IGP A Ponnuchami are in judicial custody.
