Five months after MBA student Ranbir Singh was killed in an alleged fake encounter in Dehradun, the Central Bureau of Investigation has chargesheeted 18 police personnel, including seven for murder, in the case that rocked Uttarakhand.
In the chargesheet filed before CBI judge Narendra Dutt on Tuesday, the investigating agency filed murder charges against seven police personnel, including Araghar Chowki in-charge G D Bhatt, for allegedly kidnapping and killing Singh on July 3 during the visit of President Pratibha Patil.
A total of seven police personnel were arrested in September by the CBI after evidence emerged that Singh was allegedly gunned down by the Uttarakhand police after being arrested at Mohini Road in Dehradun.
The seven policemen, who are facing murder charges, include Bhatt, Santosh Jaiswal, Nitin Chauhan, Rajesh Bist, Neeraj Yadav, Chandra Mohan (all sub-inspectors) and constable Ajit Kumar.
Besides filing murder and kidnapping charges under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, the CBI also accused all the 18 cops of tampering with evidence. After making a thorough assessment, the CBI had concluded that Singh was killed after being subjected to torture.
Ram Kumar and Ashok Kumar, the two accomplices of Singh, who were seen with him on that day, were also arrested. The police had earlier claimed that the three boys, who were riding a bike, were asked to stop by Bhatt, a sub-inspector at Dalanwala area in the city.
When Bhatt flashed a message over the wireless, the boys were intercepted at another place and in the ensuing encounter, Ranbir was killed. But after the autopsy report revealed injury marks on Ranbir's body, there was a demand for a CBI probe.
Buckling under pressure from various quarters, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank had recommended a CBI probe.
