Cops seek new PP in encounter case

The city police, alleging negligence on part of public prosecutors, have asked the government for the appointment of a special public prosecutor to represent them in a case involving an encounter killing.

Officers of the DN Nagar police station had shot down one Ramnarayan Gupta near Nana Nani Park, Versova on November 11, 2006. Ramnarayan’s brother Ramprasad Gupta has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court alleging that the encounter was staged. Senior police officers, however, believe that the public prosecutors representing the police are not contesting their case properly.

“We have recommended the appointment of a new counsel to represent our case. This will be done in due course of time,” said additional commissioner of police, Archana Tyagi.

The then police commissioner AN Roy, in his affidavit filed on November 20, 2006, said Gupta was a dangerous criminal and 10 cases had been registered against him between 1989 and 1998 at different police stations in the city, Navi Mumbai and Thane.

Ramprasad said the cops in plain clothes took his brother away and later killed him in the encounter. The police, on the other hand, claimed that they had recovered a local train ticket, which was used for travel from Thane to Jogeshwari via CST, from Gupta’s body.

The investigating police officers had also found a telegram and a fax massage, allegedly written by one Aruna Bheda saying that Gupta and Aruna’s husband Anil were taken away by cops, to be fake. However, these facts, supported by documentary evidence, were not brought to the court’s notice the public prosecutors.

The court has already ordered a fresh magisterial inquiry into the allegations levelled by the petitioner in the case.
 b_parmar@dnaindia.net