Surendra Singh’s death: Police ‘conspiracy’ to be probed

JAIPUR: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will probe the mysterious death of 33-year-old Surendra Singh, who was found dead in Sanvarad village of Nagaur district on July 12 last year after a condolence meeting, organised for the slain gangster Anandpal Singh, turned violent.
The CBI on Friday officially took over the FIR registered by Singh's father Kalyan Singh, in which he has alleged that his son was killed by the Rajasthan police as he was witness to the Anandpal's 'fake' encounter.

In his FIR lodged at the Jaswantgarh police station in Nagaur on July 18, Kalayn Singh had alleged his son Surendra Singh, a resident of Malasar in Churu, had gone to attend the condolence meeting of Anandpal on July 12 where he fell victim to a 'conspiracy' by local police.

"My son was present in Sanvarad on July 12. He had told people that he was a witness to Anandpal Singh's fake encounter. He has also claimed to have seen cops shooting Anandpal even when the latter had surrendered. The police were miffed and decided to kill my son," Kalyan Singh alleged in his complaint to the police.

On Friday, the CBI registered an FIR against unnamed persons for the murder of Surendra Singh.

Singh's death had been shrouded in mystery since the beginning. Police had sent an injured Singh to Jaipur's SMS Hospital for treatment where he succumbed to injuries. Police had mistakenly identified him as Lal Chand Sharma, a native of Haryana.

However, on July 17, his family identified him as Surendra Singh and alleged that the police deliberately hidden his body and misled public by giving a false identity. "The police did not want the truth to come out since my son was the eyewitness to the fake encounter of Anandpal at Malasar. He had spoken about it when he went to Sanvarad and was eliminated by the police," Kalyan Singh stated in the FIR.

The Nagaur police, however, contested the claim of Kalyan Singh and said they had identified Singh based on his statement given to the doctors at the hospital.

The death of Singh also saw outfits like Shree Rajput Karni Sena visiting Malasar and offering financial aid to the family and assuring them of justice.