Family members of Azamgarh resident Kamran have alleged that he was not killed in the police encounter as claimed by Uttar Pradesh Police but the injuries on his body show that he was murdered by the cops. They demanded a probe into the killing of the 40-year-old Muslim.
On the evening of 27 October, Kamran, a resident of Magraon Raipur village, was killed by the Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh police. The police claimed that the STF laid the trap and gunned down Kamran along with a sharpshooter Alis Sher in Lucknow when they were planning to kill a trader leader.
Talking about the alleged encounter, STF ACP Vishal Vikram Singh, who led the encounter claimed “Ali Sher and his aide (Kamran) were planning to kill a prominent trader leader in the old city area of Lucknow. After getting a tip-off, a team laid a trap and cornered them between the Ghaila police outpost and Faizullaganj road. When the duo was asked to surrender, they opened fire on the STF team. They suffered gunshot injuries in the retaliatory firing. The duo was taken to Bhaurao Deoras Hospital in Mahanagar where they were pronounced dead”.
However, Kamran’s brother Imran told Maktoob that he was not killed in the encounter but was murdered. In his complaint to the Azamgarh Police Superintendent, Imran mentioned injuries inflicted on his brother.
“When we got the body, we saw that his two teeth on the lower side were broken. The left eye was crushed. The wrist and shoulder of his right hand were broken. Both wrists were blackened. Blood was oozing from his ear which shows that the eardrum was fractured. The throat was appearing strangulated by the rope. One bullet mark was around his navel and one bullet mark was in the left side of the chest….this clearly says that he was not killed in the encounter but murdered,” reads Imran’s complaint to Azamgarh SP.
On Saturday, Kamran’s family members along with rights activist Rajiv Yadav went to Azamgarh SP to submit their complaint. But the SP was not present at his office and it was given to another cop who promised to send their complaint to Lucknow.
Imran said that his brother Kamran had gone to play volleyball. Around 4 pm, he told his nephew Amin that he was coming to him within 5 minutes. But he did not come. Around 9:30 pm, they came to know about the tragic death of Kamran.
“SHO of Ghambheerpur police station informed at a hotel in the village that a man named Kamran was killed in the encounter. At that time, SHO got a call telling him that he is still alive. If he is still alive, shoot him,” said Imran.
The police also claimed that Kamran was an aide of Ali Sher and there were two cases against Kamran. Imran rejected police allegations leveled at him by the police. Imran said to Maktoob that Ali Sher once opened fire at one of his brothers. “Then, how can Karmran be with him? The two cases against Kamran are related to minor quarrel and false allegations of storing Ganja,” says the kin of the deceased.
Imran also said that they have visited the site where his brother breathed his last. They found a pool of blood, chopped thumb, and chappals. They were being monitored by some people when they visited the site. When they visited the site next time along with media persons, they found the place ploughed.
The rights group Rihai Manch has also been raising the issue. They organised a press conference at Lucknow press club on Tuesday and demanded an independent probe. Kamran’s family members and rights activists including Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey were present at the press meet.
Rajeev Yadav, general secretary of Rihai Manch Tuesday morning tweeted that he along with family members of Kamran will meet the state police chief today and raise their concerns.
Waquar Hasan is an independent journalist
