By IANS,
Ghaziabad : A day after violent protests erupted against the killing of two local residents by policemen in this Uttar Pradesh town adjacent to the national capital, six policemen were suspended Thursday.
The police had earlier claimed they had killed two “robbers” after a car chase early Wednesday. But the father of one victim said the police picked him up from a bus stop over six hours before the claimed “shootout”.
The complaint against the six policemen, including a sub inspector, was registered Wednesday night and they were suspended Thursday morning, Superintendent of Police (City) Anant Dev told IANS. The charges against them included that of murder.
Senior Superintendent of Police Akhil Kumar had ordered the registration of the complaint after meeting senior citizens led by Quazi K.Z. Bukhari, who demanded that action be taken against the policemen involved in the shoout that they claimed was staged.
Abdul Aziz, on the basis of whose complaint the first information report (FIR) was registered, said that he and his son Rahees, alongwith friends Anees and Feroz, were waiting for a bus at about 10.00 p.m. Tuesday at the main gate of the vegetable market when six policemen in a jeep halted in front of them.
The policemen took away Feroz and Rahees, saying that they would send them back after questioning. Aziz identified one of the policemen as Sub Inspector H.N. Singh.
Aziz said his son did not return home and in the morning he saw his photograph in the newspaper. The news report stated that the photograph was of one of the robbers killed in a gunbattle with the police.
A magisterial inquiry has also been ordered, said City Magistrate Umesh Mishra.
Earlier Wednesday, Akhil Kumar had announced an award of Rs.2,500 each for the “brave” policemen who had gunned down two men who had allegedly robbed and beaten up a businessman.
Dev said the youth were shot dead in the Indirapuram locality adjacent to the national capital around 4.30 a.m.
He said four criminals travelling in a Qualis car seriously injured a man and robbed him at about 1.30 a.m. They then dumped the unconscious man near Haj House in Sahibabad.
When the victim, identified as Naushad, regained consciousness, he dragged himself to the main road and was spotted by a police patrol vehicle.
The police had said that on the basis of Naushad’s complaint, they chased the attackers and managed to gun down two of them. The others managed to escape with the money they had robbed from Naushad. Dev said two pistols and a knife were recovered from the Qualis.
Police said residents in the area had identified the two robbers as Salim and Feroz of Islam Nagar locality.
However, the shootout triggered massive protests in the town. Alleging that the entire episode was staged by the police, a mob went on the rampage, ransacking a hospital, damaging a police post and over a dozen vehicles, and injuring two policemen.