LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, Aug 14: The Jharkhand High Court has directed the state police to re-investigate the matter of Brahmadev Singh’s killing in a police encounter at Latehar. Apart from this, the court also directed to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to Singh’s family.
The order came from the bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi after hearing a petition from Singh’s widow, Jiramani Devi, who had demanded a CBI probe into the matter.
On how to reinvestigate, the court directed not to involve those police officials in re-investigation who had earlier probed the matter. The court directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of senior police officers for reinvestigation.
On June 12, 2021, in the Piri forest of the Garu police station area of Latehar, a 24-year-old youth Brahmadev Singh was shot dead. Initially, it was informed that it was an outcome of an encounter that broke out between Maoist and security personnel but later it was revealed that the youth was not Maoist but was a local resident who became a victim of mistaken identity.
Singh had gone hunting with his country-made firearms villagers used to keep with them to drive elephants and wild pigs in the locality but police suspected him to be a Maoist and opened fire. Another youth, Dinanath Singh (25), had also sustained injuries in the incident.