New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused a judicial inquiry in the encounter of Rahul Raj, the 23-year-old boy from Patna who was shot dead by the Mumbai Police on October 27 for hijacking a bus.
The SC's decision comes just a few days after Rahul's father told the media that his son was innocent and not a dreaded terrorist.
Rahul Raj was allegedly shot dead for hijacking a double-decker BEST bus, taking the passengers hostage and firing shots inside it, terrorising passengers and staff.
The Maharashtra government faced a strong backlash from the political circle for the encounter and Rahul's family as well as leaders from Bihar demanded a judicial probe into the incident.
However, politios in Maharashtra, joined by human rights activists in the state, have justified Rahul's killing.
Rahul Raj had boarded bus number 332 on October 27 in the Kurla Kamani area during the rush hour and sat on the upper deck where he held the passengers and the conductor hostage.
"He said he wanted to kill Raj Thackeray and that he wanted to meet the Mumbai police commissioner," the bus conductor, Mahendra Ghude stated after he was rescued.
The conductor on the lower deck called the police who immediately surrounded the bus. After convincing the man to allow the other passengers to go, the police asked Rahul Raj to surrender. As the police entered the bus, the gunman reportedly opened fire again.
The police shot him down and despite criticism, maintain that there was no other way.
"It's easy for you to sit here and ask why the police killed him. But the situation is a very grim one and you cannot ask the same question when you are faced with a man wielding a gun and shooting with people around the place. We will, of course conduct a detailed enquiry and details will be furnished before the court," said Additional Commissioner of Police, Sadanand Date.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Maharashtra government on a public suit seeking protection of the life and property of citizens in the wake of last month's attacks against non-Maharashtrians by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
A bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan sought a reply from the state government on allegations it had failed to take effective steps to check violence, first during a railway recruitment examination and subsequently after MNS chief Raj Thackeray's arrest.
The court issued the notice after hearing a suit filed by Delhi-based trader Salek Chand Jain complaining that the attacks on non-Maharashtrians had led to a chain reaction elsewhere in the country and that this threatened to destroy the nation's unity and integrity.
Comments
0 comment