Dara case: SC declines plea against BJP MLA

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea seeking a direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation to file a supplementary charge sheet against Bharatiya Janata Party member of legislative assembly Rajendra Singh Rathore and arrest him in the Dara Singh fake encounter case.

A bench of justices Markandeya Katju and C K Prasad refused to entertain the plea of Dara Singh's wife Sushila Devi, saying that such an order cannot be passed as the investigations are still going on in the case.

The CBI had on June 3 named Rathore, a former Rajathsan minister, in its charge sheet in the case alleging that he had a "strong motive and selfish interest" in the murder of Singh but the agency stopped short of making him an accused.

The agency had alleged that 16 police officials including Additional Director General of Police A K Jain were allegedly involved.

The CBI had said "since his (Rathore's) role is yet to be examined in the planned killing of Dara Singh by the Special Operations Group (of Rajasthan Police), hence investigation  is kept pending against Rathore under section 173(8) CrPC."

The agency alleged that there was an animosity over supporting rival gangs of liquor smugglers between Rathore and Dara Singh, a criminal and a bootlegger operating in Rajasthan, and Haryana who was facing several cases including those of attempt to murder and smuggling.

Dara Singh was killed by the SOG allegedly in a fake encounter on October 23, 2006 in Rangendra Prasad Nagar area on the outskirts of Jaipur.

Dara's family members had pointed a finger at a senior state BJP leader claiming that he was targeted because of personal enmity.

In the chargesheet, the CBI had named 16 police officials including Additional Director General (ADG) of Police A K Jain and A Ponnuchammi, the then SP in the SOG, besides  Additional Superintendent of Police Arsad Ali, Inspectors Nisar Khan and Naresh Sharma, Assistant Sub-Inspector Surendra Singh and Sub-Inspector Satyanarayan  Godara.

The CBI alleged that Dara Singh was taken into illegal custody by the SOG officials, who have been named as accused in the charge sheet, from Jaipur Airport and was taken to a lonely place near Amber where he was kept hostage till October 23, 2006 when he was killed in a planned manner.

However, the police claimed that Dara was fleeing from its custody when he was shot.

Hearing the petition filed by Sushila, the apex court had on August 8, observed that fake encounter killings are nothing but "cold blooded brutal murder" and police personnel involved in such incidents should be awarded death sentence.

The bench had said fake encounter killings should be treated as the rarest of rare offence.

Coming down heavily on police personnel involved in fake encounter killings, the court said as custodians of law they are expected to protect people and not eliminate them as contract killers.

The court had also directed two senior Rajasthan IPS officers -- Additional DGP Arvind Jain and SP Arshad-- to surrender.

The apex court had in April last year directed a CBI probe on an application moved by Sushila Devi accusing the Rajasthan Police of abducting her husband, killing him in a cold-blooded manner and passing it off as an encounter.