NEW DELHI: Paving the way for a CBI probe into an alleged fake encounter between Maoists and security forces in 2015 in which 12 innocent people were killed in Jharkhand, the Supreme Court Friday dismissed the state's appeal against an investigation by the central agency.
The Jharkhand High Court had on October 22, 2018 ordered a CBI probe into the alleged fake encounter, observing that the shoddy police investigation in the case has been eroding the people's faith.
The probe was ordered by the high court on a plea by Jawahar Yadav, father of para teacher Uday Yadav who was among those killed in the 'fake encounter' at Bakoria in Satbarwa block of Palamu district on June 8, 2015.
While hearing the appeal filed by the Jharkhand government against the high court's order, a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna said, "We are not inclined to entertain this petition. Dismissed." The Jharkhand government had challenged the high court order, saying it was an operation of the CRPF's CoBRA unit and district police and claiming there was no wrongdoing.
The high court in its verdict had said that the probe by the state CID was not moving in the right direction as disclosed from the facts available in the case.
It had said that the shoddy investigation by the CID was eroding the people's faith in the system, which should be restored by the transferring the case to the CBI.
Before the high court, Yadav had sought a CBI probe into the case alleging that police had killed 12 innocent people after branding them Maoists in a stage-managed encounter.
He had also claimed that the none of the victims of the encounter had any criminal background.
The encounter had created a furore in the state as former CID Additional Director General of Police had written a letter to the chief minister, governor and Union Home Ministry accusing the state DGP D K Pandey of scuttling the probe in the case.
Rao, who was later shunted out from the case, had alleged that Pandey has asked him to go slow in the investigation.