FACT FINDING REPORT OF POLICE ENCOUNTER IN NUH DISTRICT, HARYANA

In Nuh District of Haryana, a boy from Khadkhadi village - Munfaid @ Chauda s/o Islam - was

killed in a police encounter on 16.09.2017. Munfaid was a 30 year old man, who is survived

by his wife and a minor daughter 3 years old. Munfaid belonged to the Meo Community and

was engaged in the profession of farming. The victim’s father has in a written complaint to

Police (see Annexure - 1) alleged that in the evening of 15/9/2017, his son called him and his

father in law (Khurshid s/o Rehmat) to village Dekadi, PS Nuh. There Munfaid told them that

CIA (Central Investigation Agency, Haryana)1 Staff members namely, Vikrant, Shakti Singh,

Satish and Siddharth had called him to Rewari to meet them, and have told Munfaid that

they will close all the false cases registered against him if he does some work for them. The

victim’s father and Father in Law, in order to escape the everyday harassment by the police,

advised Munfaid to do whatever the police are asking him to do. Thereafter, on the morning

of 16.09.2016, the victim’s father was informed that his son was shot at Kala Pahad ki

Ghhati, Tauru Nuh Road at around 2-3 am. In his complaint, the father has alleged that the

above named officials have conspired and murdered his son. He went to the Mortuary of

Nuh Hospital, where he identified the dead body of his son.

However, in a blatant attempt to cover up the

incident by the police, the FIR lodged by the

Police, is not based on the complaint given by the

victim’s father. The FIR is infact based on the

statement given by Inspector Mastana, CIA Staff,

Nuh, Haryana. The FIR bearing No. 0358, dated

16.09.2017, filed at 10.39am, in PS Tauru, District

Nuh, u/s 302, 201 IPC and Section 25 Arms Act,

1959, has been filed against unknown accused

persons. (See Annexure 2). The FIR states that

Inspector Mastana, came across a white pick up

truck (registration number of the truck not

mentioned in the FIR) in the middle of the road

near an abandoned mining Kanta in Tauru Ghhati,

where he found an unidentified person grievously

injured. The victim was taken to Nalhad Hospital,

Nuh, where he was declared dead. It was found

that the person was shot in his neck by unknown

people. The CIA Staff contacted the police station, and the FIR was thus registered.

1 As per official website of CIA (Faridabad police), “Main purpose of partition in these staff is to control

specific crime by a specilised staff like anti Bangladeshi staff which arrests illegal immigrants of Bangladesh living in Faridabad & P.O. Bail-Jumper staff arrests P.O. & Bail-Jumper mostly.” Available at: http://faridabad.haryanapolice.gov.in/PoliceUnit_CrimeBranch.htm

Figure 1: Dead Body of Munfaid with bullet wounds in the neck

The Post Mortem was conducted

Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Govt

Medical College on 16th September,

2017 at around 4:35 PM by a board

consisting of three doctors and the post

mortem process was videographed. As

per the Post Mortem Report, a reddish

contusion was found on the front right

side of the chest and firearm entry

wounds were found on the front right

side of the neck. A deformed metallic

bullet of size 1.5x1 cm was found over

the right side of second thoracic

vertebrae. The PM Report also states that along with the dead body, a black T-Shirt and a

red baniyan were received, both of which were cut open from the front. After the Post

Mortem, the police were handed over a sealed packet bearing two seals containing the

bullet recovered from the body.

A Fact Finding on the alleged police encounter was conducted by members of a collective

called Citizens Against Hate (CAH), on 17th September, 2017. The team comprised of Arif

Mohd (a Nuh-based activist) Fawaz Shaheen (Quill Foundation), Mangla Verma (a Delhi-

based lawyer), Salman Khan (a TISS Fellow) and Vipul Kumar (Quill Foundation). The

members of the fact finding team met the victim’s father and father-in-law and visited the

scene of crime. Some interesting aspects that came up during their interaction with the

family have been summarised below:

● The residents of village Rozkemeo informed the fact finding team that Munfaid was

accompanied by his three friends when he had gone to meet the police officers, who

saw Munfaid being shot by the police. The eye witnesses have informed the

residents of the village that the police officers came in a green Bolero Car which

stopped right infront of their vehicle. Munfaid who was sitting in a car with his three

other friends was shot at by the officers.The three friends, scared for their own life

and limb ran away from the spot and informed the villagers about the murder. The

residents of the village also informed the fact finding team, that the eye witnesses

perceiving a threat to their lives have not yet given a statement to the police and are

currently in hiding.

● According to Islam Hussain, the victim’s father, Munfaid was in constant touch with

the police officers regarding a false case of rape that had been filed against him. He

further stated that Munfaid from time to time, on the instruction of the police

officers, used to carry out some work for them. On the eveining of 15th September

Figure 2: Villagers protesting at CHC Nuh

2017, the police officers were constantly calling Munfaid, asking him to do some

work for them in return for taking out his name from the rape case against him.

Khurshid, the father in law of the deceased mentioned the names of Vikrant and

Shakti Singh, saying that Munfaid had even given one of them Rs 2000 a few days

back to remove his name from the case.

● The residents of village Rozkemeo informed the fact finding team that the police had

first taken the dead body of Munfaid to Nalhad Medical College Hospital, Nuh. It was

here that he was declared dead by the doctors. Thereafter, the police pressurised

the doctors there to conduct the post mortem. However, the doctors in Nalhad

Hospital refused to conduct the post mortem on a unidentified body, because as per

procedure, the post mortem on an unidentified body can be conducted only after 3

days. Thereafter, the police took the body to CHC, Nuh for the post mortem. The

doctors in CHC, Nuh also refrained from conducting the post mortem and the police

had to call a doctor from Palwal to conduct the post mortem. The residents say that

the intention of the police was to conduct the post mortem before the deceased’s

family members could arrive to enable the police to tamper with the evidence

present on the body of the deceased.

● Islam, Munfaid’s father has alleged that the doctor along with the police officers

were trying to tamper with the dead body of Munfaid, with an intention to erase

evidence. He saw them tearing the clothes present on Munfaid’s body and trying to

remove something from his body. When he objected, he was abused and asked to

leave the room.

● The victim’s father at around 3:00 PM gave a written statement to the police,

wherein he has named 6 CIA Staff members. The SP, Mewat assured him that an FIR

will be lodged on the basis of his statement. When the fact finding team met Islam,

he was not sure if his statement had been converted into an FIR. It was infact the

fact finding team who apprised the victim’s father of the fact that the FIR had

already been lodged by the police at 10:39 AM on 16.09.2017 on the basis of the

statement given by Inspector Mastana, CIA, Nuh and that his statement is not a part

of the FIR, nor has a separate FIR been lodged on the basis of his statement.

This is not the only case of police encounter in Nuh. The past few years has seen a surge in

cases of extra judicial killings of muslim youths by police in Nuh and Faridabad Districts of

Haryana. These are mostly on the suspicion of them being criminals. A recently published

fact finding report called “Lynching Without End”, by Citizens Against Hate, looks at

religiously motivated vigilante violence in India. The Report states that a rapid listing of

police encounter cases led to the identification of 11 such cases involving 15 deceased, in

Nuh district alone. The list of 11 cases of encounters in Nuh District identified in the report

‘Lynching Without End’ has been presented in Annexure - 3.

TESTIMONIES OF THE FAMILY MEMBERS:

Since the incident had taken place a day prior to our visit, the family members were grief

stricken, demanding justice for the cold blooded murder of their son. The testimonies of the

family members of the deceased have been recorded below:

Islam Hussain s/o Hussain Khan, (father of the victim), R/o Village Khadkhadi, District Nuh.

Islam Hussain told the fact finding team that a

false case of raping a 17 year old minor girl was

filed against his son Munfaid and Anis by a

resident of his village. An FIR u/s 6 POCSO and

Section 506 IPC was filed on 30.05.2017 in Women

P.S., Mewat, against Munfaid and Anis. According

to Munfaid’s father, pursuant to the FIR being

lodged, Munfaid was residing in Village Dekadi at

his relative’s place. According to his father,

Munfaid was in constant touch with the police

officers regarding his case and from time to time,

on the instruction of the police officers, used to carry out some work for them. On the

evening of 15th September, 2017, Munfaid’s father and his Father in Law had gone to

Dekadi village to meet Munfaid. The victim’s father further stated that while they were

interacting with Munfaid, he was getting constant calls from the police. It was then that

Munfaid told them about the that CIA Staff members namely, Vikrant, Shakti Singh, Satish

and Siddharth had called him to Rewari to meet them, and have told Munfaid that they will

close all the false cases registered against him if he does some work for them. The victim’s

father and Father in Law, in order to escape the everyday harassment by the police, advised

Munfaid to do whatever the police are asking him to do. They last saw Munfaid at around 5

in the evenong when he left to go to Rewari to meet the police officers. Thereafter, at

around 6:00-6:30 am on 16th September, 2017, the family of Munfaid got to know from

villagers that his son has been murdered. At around 8.00-8.30 am they reached the

Community Health Centre (CHC) Nuh, where Munfaid’s body was kept.

Munfaid’s father further told the fact finding team that when they reached the room in the

Mortuary, they saw a few doctors and a group of police men standing next to the stretcher

on which Munfaid’s body was kept. Munfaid’s father has alleged that the doctor along with

the police were trying to tamper with the dead body with an intention to erase evidence. He

was them tearing the clothes present on Munfaid’s body and trying to remove something

from his body. When Munfaid’s father objected, he was abused and asked to leave the

room. After 20 minutes, when Munfaid’s father came back to the Mortuary room with his

Figure 3: Fact Finding team with Islam (Father of the deceased)

advocate, the police officers and the doctor started locking the room and running away.

While leaving the doctor told Munfaid’s father that he was not involved in anything and that

the police had called him there.

Thereafter, a police force of about 250 police officers were deployed in CHC, Nuh as the

people from the nearby villages had gathered at the CHC demanding a fair investigation in

the case. At around 3.00 PM the Superintendent of Police, Ms. Nazneen Bhasin visited the

CHC and assured the family of Munfaid of a fair investigation in the case. She further

assured the family that if the police officers are found to be involved in the murder, they will

be suspended and arrested. The victim’s father at around 3:00 PM gave a written statement

to the police, who assured him that an FIR will be lodged on the basis of his statement.

When the fact finding team met Islam, he was not sure if his statement had been converted

into an FIR. It was infact the fact finding team who apprised the victim’s father of the fact

that the FIR had already been lodged by the police at 10:39 AM on 16.09.2017 on the basis

of the statement given by Inspector Mastana, CIA, Nuh and that his statement is not a part

of the FIR.

Khurshid s/o Rehmat, (father in law of the deceased) R/o Village Rojkameo, District Nuh.

According to Munafiad’s father-in-law

Khurshid, on Friday, 15th September 2017, he

and Munfaid’s father Islam Hussain had gone

to meet Munfaid, who was then staying at his

maternal uncle’s house in Dekadi village.

There he noticed that Munfaid was

constantly getting phone calls, which Munfaid

said were from police officials. According to

Munfaid, they were asking him to do some

work for him in return for taking out his name

from the criminal case against him. Khurshid

mentioned the names of Vikrant and Shakti

Singh, saying that Munfaid had even given one of them Rs 2000 a few days back to remove

his name from the case.

Khurshid and Islam both urged Munfaid to meet the police officials and try to get his name

removed. At around 5-5:30 pm, Munfaid accordingly left for Rewadi village to meet the

officers. After this, Khurshid did not hear anything of Munfaid till the next morning, when

relatives from Munfaid’s village called him to say that he had been killed. Khurshid also told

the fact finding team, that the personal belongings of Munfaid that he was carrying with

Figure 4: Fact Finding Team with Khurshid (Father in

Law of the deceased)

himself such as his phone, wallet etc were not returned to the family and the family is

unaware if the personal belongings are with the police or were not found on the body.

Information given by residents of Village Rojkameo, District Nuh:

When the fact finding team met Khurshid, the father in law of the deceased, the residents of

the village informed the team that the police had first taken the dead body of Munfaid to

Nalhad Medical College Hospital, Nuh. It was here that he was declared dead by the doctors.

Thereafter, the police pressurised the doctors there to conduct the post mortem. However,

the doctors in Nalhad Hospital refused to conduct the post mortem on a unidentified body,

because as per procedure, the post mortem on an unidentified body can be conducted only

after 3 days. Thereafter, the police took the body to CHC, Nuh for the post mortem. The

doctors in CHC, Nuh also refrained from conducting the post mortem and the police had to

call a doctor from Palwal to conduct the post mortem. The residents say that the intention

of the police was to conduct the post mortem before the deceased’s family members could

arrive to enable the police to tamper with the evidence present on the body of the

deceased.

The residents also informed the fact finding team that there are three eye witnesses to the

murder of Munfaid. These eye witnesses are the friends of Munfaid who had accompanied

him to meet the police officers. The eye witnesses have informed the residents of the village

that the police officers came in a green Bolero Car which stopped right infront of their

vehicle. Munfaid who was sitting in a car with his three other friends was shot at by the

officers. The three friends, scared for their own life and limb ran away from the spot and

informed the villagers about the murder. The residents of the village also informed the fact

finding team, that the eye witnesses perceiving a threat to their lives have not yet given a

statement to the police and are currently in hiding.

Statements of villagers from Sonkh village (near the site where body was allegedly found

by police)

According to the Police version, Munfaid’s body was found in a white pick up truck in the

middle of the road near an abandoned mining kanta in Tauru Ghati. The place is basically on

a short stretch of road running along a hill on the way from Nuh to Tauru, just after Shonk

village (district Nuh). On reaching the place, we found that the road had been closed off just

after Shonk village on the orders of Haryana government for repair and road construction.

The people manning the check post there said that no cars were being allowed to go

through. On being asked about the site where the incident happened, they said that the

location was just a short distance before the other checkpost where the road block ended.

Villagers in Sonkh said that on the night of 15th September a Bolero with police lights had

rushed past the village in the direction of the alleged site of the incident just after 12 am.

The next morning between 6-7 am a PCR vehicle had also gone in the same direction.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• An FIR should be registered by the police based on the statement given by the

deceased’s father.

• The four CIA Staff Members named by the deceased’s father in his statement should

be immediately suspended, arrested and along with criminal prosecution, a

departmental inquiry should be instituted against them.

• The guidelines laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in People’s Union

for Civil Liberties & Anr. Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors [Criminal Appeal No. 1255 of

1999] for investigation of police encounters should be followed by the police as the

standard procedure for thorough, effective and independent investigation.

• The family of the deceased and the three eye witnesses should be immediately

provided witness protection.

• The family of the deceased should be provided compensation according to the

provisions laid down in CrPC.

Annexure – 1

Statement of Islam Hussain (father of the deceased) given to the police:

Annexure – 2

FIR No. 0358, dated 16.09.2017, lodged by P.S. Tauru, District Nuh.

Annexure - 3

Further cases of targeted attacks / ‘encounters’ (in police custody) we came across

in Nuh district, Haryana

Date of occurrence

Name of deceased

Address Place & manner of ‘encounter’ killing

Case details

17-02-2017 Ruddar Baten village, Kosi, UP

03-01-2017 Kamaluddin Badwa, Nuh Dadri, Kitlana village FIR lodged but not in court

07-10-2016 Nizamuddin Kot, Palwal Police killing FIR registered on friends/cross cases.

20-08-2016 Naseem Adbar, Nuh Bhiwari No case, no post mortem, no FIR

10-08-2016 Wasim Bawla village, Tauru block, Nuh

Near Mahendergarh No court case yet.

01-01-2016 Ajruddin Ghasera, Nuh Dharuhera, Rewari FIR registered, but not in court Tahir Punhana, Nuh

12-10-2015 Azad Alam Dhandhuka, Nuh No FIR

29-05-2015 Zahid Dhulawat village, Tauru block Nuh

PS: Kasola, Rewari district Haryana

Police defaced victim’s face. Body recovered after 3 days. Case in High Court.

Karar

28-02-2014 Ershad Uttawad, Palwal custodial death FIR registered. Rs 8.39 lac claim by family, released.

29-12-2013 Farid Rud, Bharatpur

2013 Niaz Mohammad

Dudoli m Punhana

custodial death

16-05-2010 Azmat

Mamlika village, Punhana block, Nuh

Kosi Kalan, Mathura district, UP Unprovoked firing by UP Police. Body too not easily traceable.

NHRC awarded compensation. UP Police still not taking action against culprits. No court case yet.

Nasim

Source: Rapid listing conducted by Citizens Against Hate, published in ‘Lynching Without

End’ – Report of Fact Finding into religiously motivated vigilante violence in India.