Plea In Supreme Court Seeks Independent Inquiry In Alleged Encounter Killings In UP's Chitrakoot Jail

A plea has been filed before the Apex Court seeking an independent inquiry into the latest killings happened in the Chitrakoot Jail of Uttar Pradesh through the agency of the best serving officer of CBI or NIA, under the aegis of Supreme Court.

The plea has sought appointment of a Central Agency like CBI or a counter-terrorist agency like NIA, under supervision of the top Court to investigate into killings of 3 under trials happened in Chitrakoot jail, and all extrajudicial killings happened in UP after 18th March 2017, with special reference to those killings done under direct orders of CM Yogi Adityanath.

The plea filed by Advocate Anoop Prakash Awasti has alleged that UP's Chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi has openly promoted the culture of encounters and extrajudicial killings and went on record to say " Police in UP will now respond to a bullet with a bullet."

Further the petitioner has said that the CM reportedly announced in the UP state assembly "apradhiyon la thok diya jayega" completely forgetting the enshrined ideals of separation of power intertwined in the basic strcture of our constitution and fundamental right to life under Article 21,

According to the petitioner, in our system a life can be taken only through the 'procedure established by law' by following due process' through our judicial machinery prescribed in our constitution. Therefore CM, who's the provincial head of an elected government encroached upon the domain of punishment in sanctioning the taking of life in encounters without following the due process of law.

"What is not being said but is so obvious is that these killing are motivated, extrajudicial, done in cold blood that in the sequence of naration provided and same is part of the 'thok do culture' directly promoted by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath Ji which is completely an antithesis of Rule of Law." the plea reads.

The petitioner has cited the killing of Munna Bajrangi who was shot dead in Bagpat Jail of UP, and Vikas Dubey's encounter last year to state that the present incident of killings and encounters in jail is not a stray incident and there have been several hundred encounters in UP since 2017 which is not only alarming but equally disturbing.

According to the petitioner, the biggest worry qua the extra-judicial killings if gone unchecked is that the life of any citizen can be taken anytime by the state agencies.

"Any enmity or private dispute or quest of settling private score may lead to filing of few criminal cases in some police station against the undesired person, branding him a dreaded criminal within days, to be taken into custody as under trial, and fellow may be eliminated by being shot anytime anywhere by the police/law enforcement authorities on any false pretext like attempt of snatching a rifle or pistol of a fellow police personnel during transportation or even inside the jail." the plea reads.

The plea has stated that, while in a mature, civilized, democratic, rule of law based county like India, history of violence should be remembered, not repeated, in State of UP, a battle of Agincourt is being fought in its jails where the police, "an organised band of criminals", under the direct orders of the top of the administration is summerly executing the prisoners on frivolous excuses.

The plea has added that prisoners are being executed on frivolous excuses like snatching of pistol or firing by the dead, deffing conscience, constitution, fundamental rights, human rights and this culture of violence being promoted in the state of UP militates against the basic notion of very rule of law where violence has become a collective enterprise to portray the authority of government and obscure its failures.