By TCN News,
New Delhi: Yesterday was the second time when Ravinder Tyagi, a ‘decorated’ officer of Special Cell of the Delhi Police, was found guilty of staging a fake encounter. Tyagi was also said to be the key architect of the Batla House encounter. Given his involvement in fake encounters one after another, a civil rights group has demanded his immediate suspension.
The additional Sessions Judge Virendra Bhat on 9th Feb. absolved and acquitted seven men accused of terrorism in a case dating back to 2005 and pronounced four officers including Ravinder Tyagi of the Delhi Police guilty of manufacturing a fake story about an ‘encounter’. The Police had claimed to have recovered AK-47 assault rifles, fake currency and ammunition from the men they claimed were ISI agents. The court found it a false claim.
Special Cell officers of Delhi police cordoned off the Batla House lane after the encounter on Sep 19, 2008. [Photo: Outlookindia]
“It seems there is no end to Special Cell’s gallantry. One of its most celebrated and decorated heroes, Ravinder Tyagi, also the key architect of the Batla House ‘encounter’ has been found guilty of yet another frame-up of innocents as terrorists,” said Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association (JTSA) reacting on the repeated involvement of the officer in fake encounters.
“What is incredible is that the Special Cell officers work with the same script each time. In 2008, Tyagi was indicted by the CBI for planting evidence such as RDX, J & K bus tickets and pistols on two men, Irshad Ali and Md. Qamar, whom they charged with being Al Badar operatives. In both instances, it was noticed that the police rested content having once ‘recovered’ the explosives and arms, making no effort to trace their source,” JTSA said.
“The repeated involvement of the officers of the Special Cell in staged encounters and frame- ups reiterate our suspicions about the veracity of the Batla House ‘encounter’. Recall too that another hero of the Batla House ‘encounter’, Karnail Singh, has been accused by a member of the SIT probing the Ishrat Jehan fake encounter, of attempting to derail a fair probe.”
“How many more innocents will be killed in cold blood, or put behind bars before habitual offenders like Tyagi are punished? Who will pay for the loss of years and dignity of those falsely framed? When will NHRC awaken from its sweet slumber and stop relying on the statements of the police force when passing judgments on the genuineness of false encounters?”
JTSA has demanded Union Home Minister and Commissioner of Police, Delhi “that Ravinder Tyagi be suspended with immediate effect. A high-level enquiry be ordered against him and all those senior officers who colluded with, patronized and protected his trigger-happy ways.”