NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court this week directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute 27 Punjab police officers, including the superintendent and deputy superintendent of Gurdaspur, on charges of gunning down four suspected militants in a fake encounter in January 1994. The order was passed b y a division bench comprising the Chief Justice, Mr, and AM. Ahmadi and Justice Ms. Sujata V. Manohar, after a CBI investigation conducted the policemen prima facie guilty. ‘The judges after pursuing the CBI report said that the evidence showed that’s police party headed by the superintendent of police, Mr, Vivek Mishra, had killed the four persons in a fake encounter, pursuant to a criminal conspiracy hatched by 27 police officers married In the report. It is further stated in the report that from evidence a prima facie case of abduction and ‘illegal confinement appeared to be made out against station house officer Pritam Singh, inspector, Joginder Singh and another,” the judges said in their order adding that a prima facie case of conspiracy to murder the four victims was ‘made out against all the 27 policemen.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 31, 1996
