The latest development in the Ranbir Fake Encounter Case is that the 11 Dehradun cops against whom a Non-blalable Warrant was issued on May 26, have finally surrendered before a Delhi court which sent them to jail.

These 11 are among the 18 Uttarakhand Police personnel, accused in the July 2009 fake encounter case of MBA student Ranbir Singh in Dehradun. The accused cops who surrendered yesterday include the then constables Satbir Singh, Sunil Saini, Chander Pal, Saurabh Nautiyal, Nagendra Nath, Vikas Chandra Baluni, Sanjay Rawat, Mohan Singh Rana, Inder Bhan Singh and Manoj Kumar and Head operator at city control room Jaspal Singh Gosain.

The court fixed July 4, the next date of hearing.

The other accused in the case are presently lodged in Tihar Jail. They include then inspector Santosh Jaiswal, Sub-inspectors Gopal Dutt Bhatt, Rajesh Bisht, Neeraj Kumar, Nitin Chauhan and Chandra Mohan and constable Ajeet Singh.

For those still uninitiated about the Ranbir fake encounter Case, below is snippet:

In July 2009, a 22-year old fresh MBA Ranbir Singh from Gaziabad, came to Dehradun to join his first job. Uttarakhand Police caught the lad at Mohini Road, claiming that he and his companions were allegedly trying to commit some crime on July 3, 2009. When Singh tried to flee from Police custody, the cops killed him on the outskirts of the city. A Total of 29 bullets were pumped in Singh's body to stop him from fleeing.

Later it came to the court's notice that the Ranbir Singh Killing was a fake one; and the case was transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court on the plea of Ranbir's father Ravindra Singh.

Wrong Questions are being Raised in Ranbir fake encounter Case:

While reporting this important case, both Electronic and Print Media, failed to raise the Right Questions.

The media reporting was inclined more at proving Ranbir Singh "an innocent, law abiding, just a usual 22 year old MBA from a non-descript middle class family coming to Dehradun to join his first job".  In short, the reporting appeared to be an all-out-effort by media to prove Singh as a "Non-Criminal" i.e. a "A Non-History Sheeter".

On this reporting foundation, the media tried to show the Police as Monsters -- Monsters who killed a 22 year old guy for no Crime.

This raises an important Question: Does that mean, the Police has a right to Kill a Criminal or a person with a criminal History?

In other words, if Ranbir Singh would have been a criminal, then had the Uttarakhand Police the Right to Kill Him in an encounter?

As far as I know, the Criminal Justice System in the country, of which Police are an integral part, doesn't allow for such 'Encounters and Killings'. So the question of them being "Fake or Genuine" should never arise (that's why Police are instructed to target the legs of a fleeing accused and not pump in 29 bullets all over the body). The Criminal Justice System provides for a trial by Courts of Law and there's no place for such "Instant Justice by the police". The role of Police ends the instant it captures an accused.

Hence if police choose to Kill an accused, media shouldn't go to prove its veracity (truthfulness). It should condemn it irrespective of it being Fake or Genuine.

No Cop in any country of the world is hailed as an "Encounter Specialist":

Indian Media has still to go a long way. It's still quite juvenile, and that shows in its reporting.

Let I give you an example.

Our Criminal Justice System Doesn't allow for "Police Killings". Police catches an accused and hands over the accused to the court to decide on his/her culpability (means the condition of blameworthiness, criminality).

Under this light, imagine the media reports which address the police cops as "Encounter Specialists" (Encounter Specialist of Gujarat Police Pradeep Sharma, Encounter Specialist of Maharashtra ATS Daya Nayak etc.).

Think it Over:

If Police goes on to Kill people on their gut feeling; then no one is safe. As the adage says "Gehun Ke Saath Ghun Bhi Pista hai" (means innocents are also crushed with wrongdoers).

Hence as a citizen, we should condemn any such police killings, without going too much on the criminality of the individual. If we have some patience and belief on our Criminal Justice System, we not only protect innocents, but also protect ourselves from "Police Style Instant Justice".
----