Human Rights organisation PUCL after having known that Brijpal Maurya son of Leeladhar Maurya of Sanjarpur village in Badaun district was killed in a fake encounter while he was looking after his ploughed agricultural land during the night of 7 January, deputed a three member fact finding team to visit the place to find out the truth. The fact finding team found that the STF and police were involved in Maurya’s killing. The team has also found that Brijpal was not only killed on the charge that he was a notorious dacoit but the police also tried to burn his dead body to wipe out the evidence.  

On 7 January, Brijpal was sleeping in a hut built near his fields to look after them when more than a dozen STF and policemen visited the place and killed him at around 12 pm midnight. People living close to the place where the incident took place panicked after so many rounds of bullets were fired. Later on a local night watchman was called by the police to identify the body. When Sishupal, the night watchman identified the dead body as Brijpal the policemen asked him to leave the place by saying the dead body is of a dacoit named Prithvi Singh. Hurriedly the policemen, in order to destroy the evidence, set the hut on fire along with the dead body. Thereafter some policemen went to Brijpal house to search for more evidence. When the family members of Brijpal wanted to know as to why their house was searched the policemen asked the family member to follow them to identify the dead body of a dacoit. When the wife and son of Brijpal, identified the dead body as that of her husband and father the policemen drove them away. When the near and dear ones of Brijpal refused to take along Brijpal’s dead body then the policemen pointed the rifle on them and took away the burnt dead body along with them.     

On 8 January, Chameli Devi, wife of Brijpal informed a senior police officer that some policemen had searched their house and while doing so they ransacked the house. They took us along with some people, close to the spot to identify the dead body. When we identified the dead body as Brijpal the policemen drove us away and again attempted to burn the body to destroy the evidence and took away the dead body. Chameli Devi has asked for a case to be registered against these policemen for killing her husband and destroying evidence. People of the area protested in order to get the missing dead body of Brijpal. Police have agreed to hand it over after the autopsy.     

There are still some questions that need to be answered: 1.If the STF and policemen killed dacoit Prithvi Singh then why was the post-mortem done in a surreptitious manner. 2. If Prithvi Singh was killed then why was the post-mortem report given to the family of Brijpal. 3. Why the Panchnama was not done at the spot. 4. Why the signature’s were taken from people present near the police station and not from people of the area. 5. If Prithvi was killed then why his family members and SSP Aligarh not informed about the incident.

The manner in which Brijpal was killed and his dead body was burnt is a clear violation of human rights. PUCL demanded a CBI inquiry and all those found guilty of killing and destroying evidence must be punished and arrested. Kith and kin of Brijpal must be given Rs 20 lakh as compensation.

Issued on 15 January 2012 by Shahnawaz Alam, Rajiv Yadav (PUCL), Sandeep Dube (Freelance journalist) - rajeev.pucl@gmail.com  (Translated from Hindi)