Sambhal ACJM orders FIR against 13 police personnel for alleged fake encounter and murder of a youth in 2023.
UP Police to challenge the order in higher court, stands by official encounter narrative.
Order revives scrutiny of encounter killings in Uttar Pradesh; family claims victim was innocent and picked up from home.
Sambhal court directed the police to register an FIR against 13 police personnel, including two station house officers, for allegedly staging a fake encounter in which a 28-year-old man was killed in 2023. The order came on a private complaint filed by the family of the deceased, who claimed the victim was picked up from his home and later declared killed in a gunfight.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Sanjay Kumar, after examining witness statements, documents and post-mortem report, found prima facie material to register a case under Sections 302 (murder), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 34 (common intention) and relevant sections of the Arms Act. The court gave the police seven days to file the FIR and initiate investigation.
The incident relates to an alleged encounter on October 15, 2023, in which police claimed the deceased, identified as Imran alias ‘Guddu’, opened fire during a chase and was killed in retaliation. The family has consistently maintained that Imran was innocent, had no criminal record, and was murdered in custody to settle personal scores.
Sambhal Superintendent of Police Vineet Kumar said the police would challenge the magistrate’s order in the sessions court or high court. “We stand by the encounter version. All procedures were followed, and there is sufficient evidence of exchange of fire. The order will be contested legally,” he stated.
