Policemen involved in fake encounters should be hanged: SC

New Delhi, Aug 8(PTI) Calling fake encounter killings
as nothing but "cold blooded brutal murder", the Indian
Supreme Court said police personnel involved in such incidents
should be awarded death sentence and hanged.
A bench of justices Markandeya Katju and C K Prasad
said fake encounter killings should be treated as the rarest
of rare offence.
Coming down heavily on police personnel involved in
fake encounter killings, the court said as custodians of law
they are expected to protect people and not eliminate them as
contract killers.
"Fake encounter killings by cops are nothing but cold-
blooded brutal murder which should be treated as the rarest of
rare offence and police personnel responsible for it should be
awarded death sentence. They should be hanged," Justice Katju,
heading the bench, said.
The court made these observations while directing the
surrender of two senior Rajasthan IPS officers (Additional DGP
Arvind Jain and SP Arshad) allegedly involved in the fake
encounter killing of an alleged gangster (Dara Singh) by the
Special Operations Group of Rajasthan Police on October 23,
2006.
The bench said if the accused police officers fail
to surrender they shall be arrested by the CBI which is
investigating the case.
"The same parameters will apply and the law shall take
its own course," Justice Katju observed when counsel for
Singh's widow Sushila Devi said that one of the accused
Rajender Rathore, a former minister, was also absconding.
"...If crimes are committed by ordinary people,
ordinary punishment should be given but if the offence is
committed by policemen much harsher punishment should be given
to them because they do an act totally contrary to their
duties."
The apex court had in April last year directed a CBI
probe on an application moved by Sushila Devi accusing the
Rajasthan Police of abducting her husband, killing him in a
cold blooded manner and passing it off as an encounter.
According to the Rajasthan government, Dara Singh was a
proclaimed offender carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head
and was involved in criminal activities.