Ranchi: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) found CRPF personnel Jitendra Kumar Pradhan guilty of killing an innocent villager during an anti-extremist operation in Khunti district in March this year. In its findings submitted to the police headquarters, CID stated Raushan Horo was killed during an operation in an area under Murhu police station.
Khunti SP Ashutosh Shekhar on Wednesday said, “Pradhan was posted in the 94th battalion of CPRF at the time of incident (on March 20). On the day of the incident, we had registered a case against Pradhan accusing him of killing Horo. Later, the victim’s relatives filed a complaint alleging police caught Horo and killed him.”
The investigation was later taken over by CID — as is envisaged in the human rights guidelines which mandates an inquiry by a third party in all police encounters — and they found Pradhan guilty.
On March 20, CRPF personnel and a police team had gone to the area to carry out a search operation, a day after they had an encounter with PLFI cadres. When they saw Horo coming on a bike, they asked him to stop, but instead he left his bike and tried to flee. Pradhan fired at him which resulted in his death.
Later, police said that upon searching, animal skins were seized from the victim’s bike which may have prompted him to escape. Police had said prima facie the firing appeared to be a mistake and they recommended payment of adequate compensation to Horo’s family.
The autopsy report showed Horo was shot from behind and the bullet hit his neck from a close range.
Meanwhile, prior sanction of the central government is required for prosecuting the accused person since according to Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, “when any person — who is or was a judge or magistrate or a public servant not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the government — is accused of an offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, no court shall take cognizance of such offence except with the previous sanction”.
The section further states that the Centre’s sanction is required in case the person at the time of commission of the alleged offence was employed in connection with the affairs of the Union.