1996 Fake Encounter: Five cops sentenced to life imprisonment

New Delhi: A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Wednesday sentenced a Station House Officer and four Uttar Pradesh police officials to life imprisonment in the 1996 fake encounter case of Ghaziabad.

The inspector of Bhojpur police station, a sub inspector and two constables were convicted for gunning down four daily wagers in a fake encounter in Bhojpur in November 1996.

The CBI court held the police officers guilty of murder, destruction of evidence and giving false evidences.

The encounter:

• During the encounter, four youngsters - Jalaluddin, Jasbir, Ashok and Pravesh - were gunned down by five cops, terming them as criminals, on the afternoon of November 8, 1996, the day of Dhanteras festival.
• All four victims hailed from Vijay Nagar in Modi Nagar town and were daily wagers.
• They had gone to Pilkhuwa in search of daily wage job and were sitting at a tea stall outside the Bhojpur police station when they were picked up by the officers inside the police station and were killed. The arguments presented before the court stated that the deceased were also tortured before being killed and the forensic investigation reports were presented as the proofs.
• After the investigation and trial which lasted more than two decades, CBI’s Special Judge (anti corruption) Rajesh Chaudhary had on Monday last held the then station house officer Lal Singh, sub inspector Joginder Singh and two constables Surya Bhan and Subhash Chand as guilty for murder.
• The fifth accused Ranbir Singh died during the course of the trial.