Policemen pumped bullets into the young man from Delhi, accusing him of snatching a sub-inspector's revolver.
Policemen pumped bullets into an MBA graduate from Delhi in Dehradun, accusing him of snatching the revolver of a police inspector.
But several inconsistencies in the police statement and evidence that emerged over the next few hours indicated that it may be yet another case of cold-blooded murder by trigger-happy policemen.
Protests rocked Ghaziabad on Delhi's periphery after news emerged that Ranbir Singh, a resident of the locality, had been shot dead.
The 22-year-old was gunned down in Dehradun by policemen who claimed that he had snatched the revolver of a sub-inspector and fled. The police said they shot him in an encounter while he was trying to flee.
"The youth had snatched the revolver of sub-inspector GD Bhatt after severely beating him up," said Amit Kumar Sinha, senior superintendent of police, Dehradun. "Later in the day we got information that the same bike was spotted in Ladpur. When we got there, the trio ran into the Ladpur jungle to escape."
According to Sinha, "The trio started shooting at the police and Ranbir was killed in the retaliation that followed. His other two accomplices are still at large."
Putting the police in a tight spot, however, Sunil Verma, a witness and resident of Dehradun, said, "I saw this boy with the police one hour before the encounter. He was wearing a blue shirt, and the police took him away in a jeep. One hour later, when I heard about the encounter, I saw images of the same boy who was with them."
Meanwhile, Ranbir Singh's family members and residents of Ghaziabad are crying foul. The student's father, Ravinder Singh, said his son was innocent. He believes the police killed him for gallantry medals.
"My brother had no criminal record," said Sachin Chaudhary, his cousin. "How could they shoot him in cold blood? If he was shot while fleeing, then how come he got shot in the chest? And where are the other two who were with him?"
According to Chaudhary, "My brother never even had a bike. Then how come the police identified him through a Haryana number bike?"
His friend Ajay Singh had similar doubts: "According to reports, there are injury marks on Ranbir's face. If the police shot him, then how come such injury marks?"
Ranbir Singh's father has refused to accept his son's corpse until justice is done to him. The family wants the case to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
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