NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
the deceased Mukhjit Singh was mistakenly understood to be Jaggu and the victim had also
thought that the police had come to arrest him. In this confusion, there was an exchange of fire
in which the deceased sustained bullet injuries and latter succumbed to the injuries.
4.57 According to the report of the Special Investigation Team, the incident took place at
around 6.46 pm. The police party acted hastily without making any efforts to ascertain the
identity of the occupant of the i20 Car. Also, no gunshot residue was found in the hand wash
of the deceased. This ruled out the possibility of firing by the deceased. Further, it was revealed
that there was no imminent danger to the police party necessitating the whole party to open fire
on the said Car. Thus, according to the SIT, the so called encounter was fake and, accordingly,
criminal action was initiated against the erring police officials.
4.58 The Commission, upon consideration of the matter vide its proceedings dated 30.11.2016,
observed and directed as under:“Under the law, no one including the police had an unqualified right to take life of another.
Death of a person by a police officer amounted to an offence of culpable homicide not
amounting to murder unless it was established that the causing of death was not an offence
in law. If a police officer killed someone in encounter, he or she must prove that the death
was caused in the legitimate exercise of the right of private defense or in the use of force
proportional to the resistance offered while arresting a person accused of an offence with
death or life imprisonment. As from the record, the special investigation team concluded
that it was a fake encounter and all the police personnel of the encounter party were
responsible for the death of the deceased, the conduct of the police personnel amounted to
a grave violation of human rights of the deceased.
The Commission issued a show cause notice to the Government of Punjab as to why
monetary compensation of ` 5,00,000/- shall not be granted to the next-of-kin of the
deceased as per Section 18(a)(i) of the PHRA, 1993.”
4.59 The matter is under consideration of the Commission.
10. One Kasar Mahto Killed and Four Others Seriously Injured in Police Firing in Village
Pager of Hazaribagh District, Jharkhand
(Case No. 947/34/11/2013)
4.60 The Commission had received an intimation from the Superintendent of Police,
Hazaribagh, about an incident of police firing in village Pager of Hazaribagh District, in which
one person named Kasar Mahto was killed and four others were seriously injured. The intimation
revealed that, on 23.07.2013, construction work at the site office of NTPC in village Pagar was
52
ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017