Last week, gangster Vikas Dubey was shot dead by Uttar Pradesh Police. His death marked 119 encounter killings under the Yogi Adityanath government. Why do encounter killings happen? How can one know if a death is an encounter killing? What is the process of investigating an encounter killing and does anything ever come out of these investigations?
Dr. (Prof.) Vikram Singh, Former DGP, Uttar Pradesh, says encounter doesn't happen accidentally. An officer who is proactively out on a hot pursuit can only claim they have had an encounter. It happens in the ambit of Right of Private Defense under Sec 95 - Sec 104 of the Indian Penal Code. An officer can only use minimum possible force until there is a danger to life. Normally, the firing has to be done to disarm perceived threats, not kill them. Unless a policeman is a bloodthirsty pervert, there is no reason for officers to stick their necks out. A false encounter could get a police officer a life sentence or the risk of being hanged.
Watch BOOM's Govindraj Ethiraj interview Vikram Singh on what measures are considered as legal self-defence and the process of investigation in encounter cases.