National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report which stated that 20-year-old Irshad Ahmad of Muzaffarnagar district was shot dead in an alleged fake encounter by the UP Police on last Tuesday. The father of the victim said that his son had no criminal history and was killed in cold blood in a fake encounter.
According to an official communiqué, the commission observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raised a serious issue of the violation of human rights. Accordingly, it issued notices to the Chief Secretary and DGP calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks. The commission also observed that it was the solemn duty of the police force to protect people and not to create an atmosphere of fear under the garb of dealing with crime. Any death caused in an encounter, if not justified, would amount to an offence of culpable homicide.
According to the media report published on Wednesday morning, the encounter happened 12 km from the victim’s Nagla village located in Muzaffarnagar district on November 27. The police reportedly claimed that the victim, along with four others accomplices, was transporting bulls in a mini truck and had opened fire at them when challenged. However, the victim’s father and fellow villagers rebutted the police claim saying that the victim did not even know driving.
