Police encounters in Uttar Pradesh are back in the spotlight in the wake of the killing of gangster Vikas Dubey.
On Thursday, western UP woke up to another encounter. Deepak Sidhu, who was among the top ten gangsters in UP and had a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head, was killed in an encounter. The incident comes even as questions are being raised about the encounter killing of Dubey.
The operation against Sidhu was led by a police team, which included deputy superintendent of police Jitender Kumar Sargham who has been part of many police operations that resulted in the killings of dreaded criminals in the last one year.
Hailing from Sardhana, Sidhu’s criminal history runs into pages, with the police describing him as a “sharp shooter” wanted in 15 cases under Arms Act, Gangster Act and various sections of Indian Penal Code for looting, killing, and kidnapping among other crimes. The latest was a case of mobile snatching.
Speaking to THE WEEK, Prashant Kumar, ADG (law and order), said both Dubey and Deepak were dreaded criminals.
“I would like to point out that those killed in the police operations were hardened criminals. In the Vikas Dubey case, the criminals fired at the police party, a JCB was put in the way to obstruct the police party and an ambush was laid to trap the policemen. The lighting was such that the policemen could not see the criminals but they could see the police team. By laying a trap for the police team and challenging the authority of the state, what kind of message were they sending,” Kumar said, and added that the state police is not endorsing cold blooded killings, but acting within their rights under the law.
The NHRC and the state human rights commission are both looking into the matter.
“The state government has set up a judicial committee headed by a retired judge of the high court. This inquiry will look into the entire conduct of the operation. Everyone is free to give their views and evidence. So we should wait and watch. Why is there a hurry,” said Kumar.
Dubey, arrested for killing eight policemen on July 3, was killed in a police encounter by the special task force of UP police on July 10 when he allegedly tried to escape after the vehicle carrying him met with an accident.
Meanwhile, with the killing of Sidhu DSP Jitender Sargham has yet another feather in his cap. A former wrestler hailing from Haryana, the encounter cop is part of the SWAT team that has been working day and night, tracking criminals, and has won honours from the state police. His previous encounter was of Zubair, who was at large after the Gujarat Police was on his trail for the murder of a diamond trader in Surat on March 3 last year.
