Trouble mounts for 12 policemen in Sambhal! An FIR has been filed in connection with a fake encounter.:

News Topical, Digital Desk : A court in Sambhal district has ordered the registration of an FIR against 12 policemen, including the former station house officer (SHO) and another person in connection with an alleged fake encounter case in which a man was shown as arrested in a robbery case, even though he was in jail at the time of the incident, an advocate said on Friday.

The police said they would challenge this order. The lawyer explained that the order to register an FIR was issued by Sambhal Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Vibhanshu Sudhir. The case involves a man named Omveer, who, despite being in jail, was shown as involved in a robbery and later arrested in an alleged encounter.

If you were in jail then how did you commit robbery?

Omveer's lawyer, Sukant Kumar, said, "The CJM passed this order on a petition filed by Omveer on December 24th. The petition alleged that he was framed in a false robbery case and that the Bahjoi police arrested him by staging a fake encounter." According to the petition, a robbery of Rs 1 lakh took place in the Bahjoi police station area on April 25, 2022, and an FIR was registered on the same day. It stated that during the investigation, the police allegedly staged a fake encounter on July 7, 2022, in which 19 motorcycles and the looted money were recovered, along with the arrest of Omveer, Dhirendra, and Avneesh.

However, in the petition, Omveer claimed that he was incarcerated in the Badaun jail from April 11 to May 12, 2022, and was released on May 12, making it impossible for him to have participated in the robbery on April 25. Despite this, the petition stated, a charge sheet was filed against Omveer and he was sent to jail.

Order against which policemen?

The court ordered the registration of an FIR within three days against the then-station in-charge Pankaj Lavania, Crime Branch Inspector Rahul Chauhan, Sub-Inspectors Prabodh Kumar, Naresh Kumar, Neeraj Kumar, and Jameel Ahmed, constables Varun, Ayush, Rajpal, Malti Chauhan, Deepak Kumar, Head Constable Roop Chandra, and another, Durvesh. The court granted relief to the then Circle Officer (CO), Gopal Singh, in the case. However, the complainant stated that he would continue his legal fight against this relief.

Omveer told reporters that he had complained to the Superintendent of Police and other senior officers about the alleged fake encounter, but no action was taken. He said, “The court order is justified.”

Bahjoi CO Pradeep Kumar Singh stated that the police had not yet formally received the court order. He added, "We learned about it through the media." Meanwhile, Sambhal Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar stated that the police would not file an FIR and would challenge the court order.