‘Cops fabricated evidence to prove encounter genuine’

MOHALI : The Beas police team had created a false record to prove that the encounter of 15-year-old Harpal Singh of Amritsar’s Palla village in September 1992 was genuine, the CBI special court that awarded life imprisonment to two former cops in the case has observed.

The convicts are Raghbir Singh (81), the then Beas station house officer (SHO) and the then sub-inspector (SI) Dara Singh (78) who retired as an Inspector.

Trashing the encounter theory, additional district and sessions judge (CBI court) NS Gill said the police version could have been credible had the cops shown that a single bullet hit any of them or their vehicle.

Their version could have also been believable in case the 23 AK-47cartridge shells and cartridge shells used by police had been deposited in the police station malkhana, the judge observed.

“Police excesses and maltreatment of detainees or undertrial prisoners or suspects tarnishes the image of any civilised nation and encourages the men in khaki to consider themselves above the law. They sometimes even try to become law unto themselves,” Gill said quoting a Supreme Court judgment.

‘RUQA’ PREPARED AFTER ENCOUNTER NAILED COPS

The ‘ruqa’, details of the crime spot, eyewitnesses’ account prepared by the investigating officer before lodging of an FIR, prepared by Raghbir Singh after the encounter got nailed him and SI Dara Singh.

Raghbir stated in the ruqa that two Sikh youngsters – later identified as Harpal and Hardeep Singh (who was killed later in another encounter) fired at the team of cops and CRPF men at Nijjar village

As per the police version, after the firing stopped, one Sikh youngster (Harpal) was found dead whose identity was revealed from a diary found on him.

“...The police party fired no bullet, leading to the conclusion that no bullet was fired by Hardeep Singh and Harpal Singh. As per the ‘ruqa’, two cartridge shells and three bullets were recovered from the encounter site even as the police claimed that 217 bullets were fired.

This shows that even the story of the recovery of revolver is fake,” the judge observed.

The court said even as the police said a diary was found on Harpal, they did not hand over the body to his family and cremated it as unclaimed. “There is nothing on record to show that the family refused to accept the body.”