UP cops in dock for killing wrong man 4 yrs ago

'ENCOUNTER' GOOF-UP: The police stuck to its claim that Nirmal Katheria had been shot, only now admitting its mistake.

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Keywords: Encounter, Police

Lucknow: Notorious gangster Nirmal Katheria was killed by UP police in 2003, police claiming it as a major victory and rewards were handed out to all those who killed the dreaded criminal.

On Sunday, UP police again shot Nirmal Katheria dead, for the second time.

This time, the police was not claiming victory, it was defending itself.

"Nirmal has been killed, it was a case of mistaken identity,” said Brajbhushan Sharma, DIG, Kanpur range.

So who did the police shoot dead in 2003? It was actually Pappu Khushwaha, a dalit youth from Jagdishpur village.

His parents immediately protested but the police stuck to its claim that Nirmal Katheria had been shot, only now admitting its mistake.

Pappu's parents are now demanding action against the cops responsible for killing their son.

“The police refused to believe us at that time,” said Keshwav Baba, Pappu's father.

“Our son was innocent,” said Sarju Devi, pappu's mother.

The police have now ordered an inquiry into the incident.

On an average, as many as 65 cases of fake police encounters are reported to the NHRC from the state of Uttar Pradesh.

While government has ordered an inquiry into the killing of the dalit youth, the incident has once again brought to light how insensitive and inhuman the UP police has become towards human life.

(With Prabhakar Kumar)