Vikas Dubey encounter: Former SC Judge BS Chauhan to lead 3-member inquiry panel

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 22

Former Supreme Court Judge BS Chauhan will head a three-member panel that will inquire into the killing of eight policemen and the subsequent death of gangster Vikas Dubey and five of his associates in alleged police encounters.

According to a draft notification – submitted by the Uttar Pradesh Government and approved by the Supreme Court on Wednesday – the other two members of the inquiry commission are former Allahabad High Court Judge Shashi Kant Agarwal and former Uttar Pradesh DGP KL Gupta.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde asked the inquiry commission start its work within a week and submit the report to it and the state government in two months. 

The Bench made it clear that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) already constituted by the UP Government will be free to inquire into any of the related incidents which are the subject matters of this case. 

While asking the UP Government to immediately notify the inquiry commission, it directed the Centre to provide secretarial assistance to the panel which will also get the assistance of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or any other central agency.

The top court said it was not in favour of “tying the hands” of the commission with specific terms of reference for it.

The order came on a batch of petitions, including those filed by PUCL, advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay and suspended Police Inspector KK Sharma, who is accused of giving a tip-off to the gangster, seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the alleged encounter killings.

Amid speculations over killing of Dubey in a police encounter while being taken to Kanpur from Ujjain on July 10, the UP Police have asserted that it was a genuine encounter.

Before Dubey’s killing, five of his associates were killed in separate encounters.

Eight policemen were allegedly killed by Dubey and his associates on July 3 when they went to arrest him.

The top court had said it was a failure of the system that a person like Dubey got bail despite having several cases lodged against him.