A plea in the Supreme Court has sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with the constitution of an independent expert committee under the chairmanship of a former SC judge to investigate the alleged “extra-judicial killing” of Bharat Bhushan Tiwari in a police encounter in Bilauti village of Bihar’s Bhojpur district on June 17.
Tiwari’s killing has triggered a row with his family claiming that he had surrendered and discarded his weapon before being fatally shot by the police. On Monday, advocate Vishal Tiwari, who has filed the plea, mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi. “Mention before the registrar,” the bench told Tiwari.
In his plea, Tiwari said that in a democratic society, police cannot be allowed to become a punishing authority as this power is only vested in the judiciary. Referring to the Bihar incident, the petition said it has triggered a debate over police procedures and the use of force during encounters. The plea claimed that the man’s killing appeared to be “suspicious”.
“The incidents of extra-judicial killings have increased in the past few years which is a big challenge to the rule of law,” it said, claiming recently police encounters have increased sharply across Bihar. It also referred to a 2014 SC verdict which issued a slew of guidelines to be followed in matters of investigating police encounters which have led to death or grievous injury.
