CBCID inquiry into encounter death sought

Tiruchirapalli, Apr 29 (UNI) The 'People Watch Movement' today demanded a Crime Branch CID (CBCID) inquiry into the police encounter yesterday in which notorious criminal Balaji alias Bomb Balaji was shot dead.

Movement's Legal Advisors Martin and Anbazhagan told newspersons here that the parents of the deceased had complained to the Tamil Nadu Human Rights Commission and the authorities concerned several times that ''the police were planning to kill their son Balaji under the guise of an encounter.'' ''Despite this, the police shot dead Balaji at suburban Sarkar Palayam on the early hours in a preplanned manner,'' they alleged.

They also pointed out that the then Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Mr Justice Anand ruled on December one, 2001, that the Police should register encounter death cases.

As a follow up measure, the state Chief Secretary, citing this ruling, had written a letter to the Director General of Police and other top police officials to follow the advise of NHRC, they said and alleged that despite this, the Tamil Nadu Police was continuing its human rights violations.

They warned that the Movement would seek suitable legal remedy, if the state government did not order a CB-CID enquiry into the incident.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed for a while at the Government Headquarters Hospital here, where the victim's body was kept, when his family members refused to receive his body, demanding that a murder case be registered against the police officials who were involved in the encounter.

However, Revenue Divisional Officer, Tiruchirapalli, Mallika, who held an inquest, convinced the family members and subsequently the body was handed over to them after the post-mortem.

UNI RV RL KP1853