Patna: For Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vineet Vinayak it may come as a bolt from the blue. Within a few months, he was awarded the President's medal for gallantry for showing exemplary courage during a police encounter, which left eight alleged outlaws dead in Khagaria, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has ordered an investigation.

The SHRC has asked Inspector General (IG) A K Seth, who looks after the Human Rights related affairs, to conduct a thorough probe and submit his report to the commission by January 31.

"The role of the policemen involved in the encounter is suspicious. It needs to be investigated," Justice S N Jha said. Two-members of the Commission, Justice Jha and Justice Rajendra Prasad, ordered an investigation into the Khagaria police encounter, on Wednesday.

The commission, sources said, would take legal action against the policemen if the allegations levelled by the relatives of the victims, were found to be true. The relatives, in a petition to the commission, alleged that a police team led by the then Superintendent of Police had killed eight persons, including Vijay Kumar Yadav (mukhiya) in a fake encounter in Mansi area on December 13/14 night in 2007.

The petition submitted to the commission said that on the fateful night, the slain mukhiya's second marriage was to be solemnised. The victims were relaxing at Surendra Yadav’s outhouse in the night. The police suddenly surrounded them and started indiscriminate firing, killing Jogi Choudhary, Rajo Choudhary, Bhoop Choudhary, Naresh Choudhary, all residents of Sanakhua in Saharsa and
Ranjeet Yadav, Swapna Choudhary Mohammad Israel alias Gorkha and Vijay
Kumar Yadav of Khagaria district.

The complainant alleged that though the mukhiya was also killed in the encounter, the police showed his death elsewhere and even lodged a separate case in this connection. A report submitted by the Director General of Police also mentioned that no magisterial enquiry was conducted in the encounter.
Even the guidelines laid down by the NHRC were not followed in the police encounter," the petition alleged.

An earlier report submitted to the commission by the police headquarters said that the then station house officer of Khagaria police station, B K Singh, had lodged an FIR in connection with the police encounter.
The petitioner expressed surprise over no harm caused to the policemen, who had indulged in fierce gun-battle. While the police had fired 135 rounds in self defence, the alleged outlawed fired 200-250 rounds.

A report submitted by the Khagaria police to the Director General of Police said that all the outlaws had come to the village to collect extortion money from the
farmers on horses.

"On hearing the sound of the horses' feet,the policemen became alert and followed them. In the ensuing encounter, all the outlawed were neutralised,"the report said.

The commission members, however, said that the names of the farmers from whom the outlaws had demanded extortion had not been mentioned in the report. “And if, the outlaws had demanded extortion, why the policemen did not lodge any complaint in the police station concerned," they asked.

Moreover, the police, instead of warning the victims to surrender, indulged in firing, leaving all of them dead, the members added. Notably, Vinayak, 1995-batch IPS officer of Sikkim cadre, is currently on inter- state deputation.