Kin seek CBI probe into Dadri policeman’s killing

Family members suspect role of colleagues in the murder, say they will refuse to accept compensation

The family members of Sub-Inspector Akhtar Ali, who was killed in a gunfight in Dadri, alleged on Wednesday that there was a conspiracy in his death, and pointed to a possible role of police personnel in his killing. They also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation enquiry into the killing. Ali was killed allegedly by criminals in Dadri during a raid a hideout of their gang on Monday.

While the family alleged conspiracy, the Gautam Buddha Nagar police chief Kiran S. refused to comment, saying a probe was already on in the matter. Ali’s younger brother Yameen told The Hindu that the family would refuse to take the money announced by the Uttar Pradesh government. He, instead, demanded a CBI probe into his brother’s killing.

“I don’t know anything but that my brother was murdered by his fellow policemen. I refuse to believe the police version because it doesn’t seem to be true. We want a CBI probe into the way he was killed,” said Yameen on phone from Aligarh.

Akhtar, who joined U.P. Police in 1998, joined the Dadri police station in June 2014 as a Sub-Inspector. “We were told that he (Ali Akhtar) was shot in the throat from a very close range. How is that possible? There were 14 policemen in the team that went with him. What were they doing after he was shot,” Yameen asked.

“We were told that the police party fled from the scene leaving Akhtar alone to bleed to death. How can you run away leaving your bleeding colleague? He bled to death because he was abandoned there and he kept bleeding for almost an hour,” alleged Yameen.

He claimed that the standard operating procedures were not followed.

“First of all, the local police chief was not kept in the loop about the police raid. Then, while Akhtar was shot around 4 a.m., the local police chief of Dadri, Kiran S., was informed about this at 5 in the morning. We have more than one reason to believe that it can be a conspiracy,” added the brother of the slain policeman.

Razia Begum told The Hindu that her husband could have been saved had his fellow officers not left him alone, and had taken him to hospital immediately after he was shot.

“We do not want Rs. 20 lakh which the State government announced as compensation. It won’t bring my husband back. We want to know the truth. We demand a CBI enquiry,” she added.