A sub-inspector has been arrested and three other Uttar Pradesh Police personnel have been suspended for allegedly shooting at a 25-year-old gym trainer near Noida Sector 122, Gautam Buddha Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police Love Kumar said on Sunday. He added that the service pistol used by the sub-inspector has been recovered.
The incident took place around 10 pm on Saturday when Jitendra Kumar Yadav and his three friends were on their way back from a wedding in Ghaziabad. Sub-inspector Vijay Darshan, another sub-inspector and two constables stopped their car near Noida Sector 122 and said that they would be taken to the police station, alleged Yadav’s friend who was present at the spot.
“We aren’t criminals, why should we have gone to the police chowki?” said the eye-witness, according to The Indian Express. “As soon as we sat in the car, he took out the gun and shot...We thought that the bullet has been fired in the air but we saw blood and panicked…When we reached the chowki, he parked the car. I broke the windscreen of the car and started creating a hue and cry because he was not taking us to the hospital…He called someone and said an encounter has taken place here, cross firing has happened.”
Yadav is currently under going treatment at a hospital in Noida.
While Yadav’s family members also alleged that it was a fake encounter, the police ruled it out. “Prima facie it is not an encounter case,” said Kumar. “We are investigating the case on different angles and all facts are being verified.”
Kumar added that the police were suspecting that personal enmity could be the reason behind the shooting as Darshan knew Yadav’s elder brother very well. “It is possible that there might have been some personal reason due to which he fired from his gun,” he said.
Meanwhile, a relative of Yadav said they have given a 48-hour ultimatum to the police. “If he [Yadav] doesn’t gain consciousness within that time frame, we will begin a protest against [the] police,” said the relative, according to ANI. “We want CBI inquiry into this fake encounter. This fake encounter was done only to get an out of turn promotion and win medals. This has been done earlier as well.”
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