MBA graduate killed in 'fake' encounter

NAINITAL: It could have been the first day of a new posting for Ghaziabad's Ranbir Singh (24). However, the MBA student was allegedly shot dead in an encounter at Ladpur jungles by Dehradun police on Friday.

Uttarakhand principal secretary (home) Subhash Kumar said on Saturday that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

According to Ranbir's father Ravinder Singh, his son is innocent. "Show me his criminal record. The police just killed him to get medals. The police are threatening me now," he said, sobbing and trying to console his wife.

According to Ranvir's family members, the incident took place around 1 pm on Friday. Ranbir, accompanied by his brother Sachin Pal, was on his way to Araghar area in Dehradun on a motorcycle to join his office on the first day after being posted there from his Meerut office a couple of days ago.

However, according to police officials, Ranbir was accompanied by not one but two others. They said the trio was part of a gang that extorted money from businessmen.

According to reports, during checking at Araghar post, the police post in charge G D Bhatt and other cops on duty flagged Ranbir to stop. "As he was in a hurry to reach office, he sped away. The cops after chasing the youth gunned down Ranbir," said his uncle Satyendra Pal. According to the family members, Ranbir received bullets on his chest.

However, Uttarakhand Inspector General of Police N A Ganapati gave a different version. He said when the police opened a suspicious-looking bag that the boys were carrying, a countrymade revolver was found in it. The boys then overpowered Bhatt, snatched his revolver and fled, he said.

When the SI flashed a message over the wireless, the boys were intercepted at another place and there was an encounter in which Ranbir was killed, Ganapati said.

Ranbir's family members said he was a hardworking and studious youth, who was doing his MBA from a private institute in Meerut.

The news of Ranbirs death spread like wildfire in Dehrdun. Angry residents, including students, took out a procession to the hospital where the body of Ranbir was taken for post-mortem.