Pilibhit 1991 Fake Encounter Case: 43 Convicted Policemen Get Seven Year Imprisonment

Allahabad High Court
– Photo: Amar Ujala

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has held 43 policemen guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the 1991 encounter case of 10 Sikhs. In 1991, ten Sikhs were killed in an alleged encounter by the policemen, calling them terrorists of the Khalistan Liberation Front. The trial court, finding these policemen guilty of murder, had sentenced them to life imprisonment on April 4, 2016. Setting aside the decision of the lower court, the court sentenced the guilty policemen to seven years imprisonment each. This order was passed by the division bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Saroj Yadav after hearing the appeals filed by the accused policemen Devendra Pandey and others.

Let us tell you that on July 12, 1991, a group of 25 Sikh passengers were returning by bus after visiting Nanakmatha, Patna Sahib, Huzur Sahib and other pilgrimage sites. The policemen stopped the bus near Kachala Ghat in Pilibhit and took 11 youths off and made them sit in their blue bus. Ten of these bodies were found while Talwinder Singh of Shahjahanpur could not be traced till date.

Police had registered three cases
Police had registered three separate cases at Puranpur, Newria and Bilsanda police stations regarding the matter. After deliberation, the police had submitted the final report in these cases.

A lawyer had filed a public interest litigation regarding the matter in the Supreme Court. After the hearing, the Supreme Court handed over the investigation of the case to the CBI on 15 May 1992. After investigation of the case, the CBI had filed a charge sheet against 57 police personnel on the basis of evidence. The court had convicted 47 in the case, while 10 had died by 2016.

CBI had made 178 witnesses
The CBI had made 178 witnesses in its charge sheet. 101 evidence including weapons, cartridges of policemen were searched. The probe agency had also included 207 documents as evidence in its 58-page charge sheet.

These people were thrown off the bus and killed
Narinder Singh alias Ninder, father Darshan Singh, Pilibhit
Lakhwinder Singh alias Lakha, father Gurmej Singh, Pilibhit
Baljit Singh alias Pappu, father Basant Singh, Gurdaspur

Jaswant Singh alias Jassa, S/o Basant Singh, Gurdaspur
Jaswant Singh alias Fauji, father Ajayb Singh, Batala
Kartar Singh, Father Ajayb Singh, Batala
Mukhwinder Singh alias Mukha, father Santokh Singh, Batala

Harminder Singh alias Minta, S/o Ajayb Singh, Gurdaspur
Surjan Singh alias Bitto, S/o Karnail Singh, Gurdaspur
Randhir Singh alias Dheera, S/o Sundar Singh, Gurdaspur
(Note: Talwinder Singh father Malkait, Shahjahanpur (reported missing)

convicted policeman
The convicted policemen are Ramesh Chandra Bharti, Veerpal Singh, Nathu Singh, Sugam Chand, Collector Singh, Kunwar Pal Singh, Shyam Babu, Banwari Lal, Dinesh Singh, Sunil Kumar Dixit, Arvind Singh, Ram Nagina, Vijay Kumar Singh, Uday Pal Singh, Munna Khan, Durvijay Singh s/o Todi Lal, Gayaram, Register Singh, Durvijay Singh s/o Dilaram, Harpal Singh, Ram Chandra Singh, Rajendra Singh, Gyan Giri, Lakhan Singh, Nazim Khan, Narayan Das, Krishnaveer, Karan Singh, Rakesh Singh, Nemchandra, Shamsher Ahmed and Shailendra Singh are currently in jail.

These policemen are on bail
There, Devendra Pandey, Mohammad Anees, Virendra Singh, MP Vimal, RK Raghav, Surjit Singh, Rashid Hussain, Syed Aale Raza Rizvi, Satyapal Singh, Harpal Singh and Subhash Chandra are out on bail. The court has ordered to take them into custody. During the pendency of the appeal, three appellants Durgapal, Mahavir Singh and Badan Singh had died.

Expansion

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has held 43 policemen guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the 1991 encounter case of 10 Sikhs. In 1991, ten Sikhs were killed in an alleged encounter by the policemen, calling them terrorists of the Khalistan Liberation Front. The trial court, finding these policemen guilty of murder, had sentenced them to life imprisonment on April 4, 2016. Setting aside the decision of the lower court, the court sentenced the guilty policemen to seven years imprisonment each. This order was passed by the division bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Saroj Yadav after hearing the appeals filed by the accused policemen Devendra Pandey and others.