No top Delhi cop at encounter specialist Rajbir Singh's funeral

Naya Gaon (Haryana), Mar.25 : Delhi Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and encounter specialist Rajbir Singh was today cremated in his village of Naya Gaon in Haryana's Rewari District, almost 20 hours after he was shot dead by Gurgaon property dealer Vijay Bharadwaj.

Singh's body was taken from a Gurgaon mortuary to his home in Delhi to allow his relatives to grief and pay their last respects before it was taken to his village for final rites. In a departure from protocol, no senior police official of Delhi Police attended the funeral. The public relations officer of Delhi Police, Rajan Bhagat, was the only officer of some seniority (ACP rank) to represent the Delhi Police.

Bhagat told ANI over phone that some retired Deputy Commissioners of Police and Assistant Commissioners of Police also attended the funeral.

Earlier in the day, Bhardwaj confessed that he had gunned down Rajbir Singh late on Monday night.

Forty-eight-year-old Singh was attached with the Special Operations Squad and had been provided 'Z' category security cover.

Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said, "He was shot twice in the head from point blank range on Monday night. The incident took place in Bhardwaj's office near Sukhrali village in Gurgaon in Haryana at around 10:30 p.m. It is not confirmed whether the men guarding him were present when he was shot".

"The accused has surrendered and confessed to the crime. It appears that the dispute was over the profit both of them got in a property deal," Gurgaon Police Commissioner Mohinder Lal said.

"I owed some money to Singh and the officer had threatened to kill me. I wanted to commit suicide, but my family found the suicide letter and stopped me," said Bhardwaj.

The Police Commissioner said Bhardwaj had allegedly procured the revolver three days ago from Singh and used the weapon to kill him.

A winner of five medals, including the President's Police Medal for Gallantry, Singh was involved in investigations related to the Parliament and Red Fort attack cases.

He was transferred from the Crime Branch to Delhi Armed Police after allegations of his involvement in an illegal land deal last year. There were also allegations of his links with drug traffickers and land mafia.

The vigilance probe, however, gave him a clean chit and he returned to head the Special Operations Squad in November last year.

Rajbir Singh is survived by his wife son (14) and a daughter (11).

ANI