A magisterial enquiry has been ordered to investigate the death of two notorious criminals in encounters with policemen in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday.
Ashish and Abdul were killed by the police in two separate encounters on the intervening night of January 2 and January 3. They were accused of looting a jewellery shop and shooting the owner in broad daylight around two months back.
City magistrate Satya Prakash has been tasked with investigating all aspects related to both encounters and submitting the report within 15 days, informed district magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh.
“The enquiry has been ordered based on a request from the senior superintendent of police (SSP) for a magisterial enquiry,” he said.
Both the criminals were carrying a reward of ₹50,000 each for information leading to their arrest.
According to the police, Ashish was a native of Aimanpur village in Dehat Kotwali police station area, and his companion Abdul Khurja was a resident of Bhatwara in Bulandshahr district.
Acting on a tip-off, joint teams of policemen from different police stations surrounded Ashish and Abdul in two different areas. The police said that the criminals opened fire when the policemen asked them to surrender. In retaliatory firing, both were killed.
While Ashish was shot dead in Bulandshahr city, Abdul was gunned down in Pahasu area of the district, according to senior superintendent of police (SSP) Shlok Kumar.
The police further said that two policemen –Parvez Chaudhary and Virender Singh – sustained injuries after being hit by bullets fired by Ashish. A constable named Sitam Singh was injured during the encounter with Abdul, cops claimed.
The injured policemen were admitted to a hospital for treatment.
Family members of slain criminal Ashish have raised questions and called it a fake encounter. However, the police have refuted their allegations, stating that the action was taken according to the law.