Accused of fake encounter,19 cops still on the run

Devendra’s brother Rajendra Prasad Singh complained to the then chief minister that his brother was killed in a fake encounter and sought a probe into the matter.

Devendra denied any relation of the family with the dacoits. Also,the rifle the policeman claimed to have recovered from the house was a licenced weapon. he said.

The Crime Branch-CID then investigated the encounter and filed a chargesheet against 20 policemen,including then Station House Officer of Gopiganj police station,Shitla Prasad Pandey,on July 14,1994. But none of the accused appeared in the court despite summons. One of the accused later moved Allahabad High Court,which stayed the proceedings in the trial court. In 2006,however,the stay was vacated.

On February 17,2010,one of the accused,constable Ganesh Shankar,surrendered before the court and was sent to jail. Later,he was granted bail. Another constable Jai Prakash Tiwari challenged the warrants in the Allahabad High Court,but the court rejected his application on September 14,2010.

“Except Ganesh Shankar,no other policemen has appeared before the court,” said Tej Bahadur,advocate for the family of the victim. The order declaring them absconder was issued on November 18,2008.

Mirzapur range DIG Prabhat Kumar,however,said he had no information about the case. Sant Ravi Das Nagar SP Gyaneshwar Tiwari,too,had no information,and advised to check with his PRO sub-inspector MS Yadav,but Yadav could not be contacted despite several efforts.