:dateline:A CBI court in Lucknow represented by Justice Lallu Singh has held 47 Policemen guilty of killing 10 Sikh youths in a fake encounter near Pilibhit of Uttar Pradesh. The encounter dates back to July 12, 1991 when 10 Sikh youths were offloaded by the Police cops near Kachhla Bridge of Badaun district and were encountered at three different locations by dividing them into three groups of 4, 4 and 2.
It is notable that during last two decades of the 20th century, thousands of innocent Sikh youths were massacred by the Indian police in fake encounters. The police used to claim large ransoms from Indian government by depicting them as dreaded terrorists.
57 Policemen were named in the original charge sheet while 10 of them died during trial of the case. Justice Lallu Singh held 47 policemen guilty, and 20 out of 47 present in the Court were arrested on spot and were sent to jail. The Court has also issued arrest warrant against remaining 27 policemen. �
It is noteworthy that the CBI probe in this case was ordered by the Supreme Court of India acting upon the PIL (Public Interest Litigation) moved by Advocate R.S. Sodhi. 57 policemen were indicted under various sections of Indian Penal Code including murder charges in a charge sheet filed on June 12, 1995 (approximately four years after the encounter).
In a press note shared with Sikh24, the Khalra Mission Organization stated that the families of Sikhs in�Pilibhit have had to pay heavy price in getting the guilty policemen arrested. �Khalra Mission appreciated the efforts by Justice Lallu Singh. �Khalsa Mission stated that several thousand innocent Sikhs were eliminated jointly under the orders of Akali Dal (B), Congress and the BJP.
These ‘police men’ should all be given the death sentence and summarily hanged as a deterrence to other police officers who wish to abuse their positions and murder innocent people.