Jodhpur court relief for police officers in gangster Anandpal Singh encounter case

Jodhpur, Nov 12 (PTI) In relief to former Churu SP Rahul Barhat and six other police officers, the district and sessions court here has overturned a lower court's directive of framing murder charges against them in the encounter case of gangster Anandpal Singh.

The decision reversed the July 2024 order of the additional chief judicial magistrate (CBI cases) court, which had instructed that murder charges be filed against the officers involved in the 2017 encounter.

Singh was killed in the police encounter on June 24, 2017, in Malasar village of Churu district.

Following his death, his family, led by wife Raj Kanwar, alleged it was a fake encounter and sought a CBI probe.

The CBI later submitted a closure report citing lack of evidence of wrongdoing, but the ACJM court rejected it, ordering prosecution of the officers based on the family's protest petition.

Setting aside that ruling, district and sessions judge Ajay Sharma concluded that the encounter was genuine and not staged and the police officials fired in self defence stating that the lower court wiped out the chivalry of police personnel through erroneous conclusions.

The judge emphasized that when an independent agency like the CBI finds no offence, courts must exercise close scrutiny before issuing process to avoid unjustly prosecuting public servants performing their duties.

The court noted contradictions in the statements of Anandpal's brother Rupendra Pal. While he told the CBI that Anandpal had fired at the police from inside the house, he later claimed in court that his brother never fired a shot.

However, evidence indicated that firing took place from both sides, with ballistic reports confirming that a bullet lodged in constable Sohan Singh's backbone came from Anandpal's rifle.

Moreover, 32 empty cartridges recovered from the scene were fired from Anandpal's AK-47, a weapon not ordinarily possessed by a normal criminal, the court observed.

Judge Sharma held that the lower court ignored crucial documents, including the FSL report, ballistic findings, and medical evidence, leading to a decision inconsistent with the case's factual matrix.

He ruled that the prosecution sanction ordered by the lower court was not sustainable in law. With this verdict, the Sessions Court has fully set aside the lower courtâs order, reaffirming the legality of the 2017 encounter and clearing the involved officers of criminal liability. PTI COR ZMN