Vindication for Officers: Court Clears Police in Anandpal Encounter

A district and sessions court has overturned murder charges against former Churu SP Rahul Barhat and six other police officers in gangster Anandpal Singh's encounter case. The judge emphasized the lack of evidence for wrongdoing and reaffirmed the legitimacy of the 2017 police operation, clearing the officers of criminal liability.

The district and sessions court has brought relief to former Churu Superintendent of Police, Rahul Barhat, and six other officers by overturning earlier murder charges in the case involving gangster Anandpal Singh's death during a police encounter. This decision contradicts the July 2024 directive from a lower court.

Anandpal Singh was killed on June 24, 2017, in an encounter in Malasar village, Churu. His family claimed it was a fake encounter and demanded a CBI probe. Despite the CBI's closure due to insufficient evidence, a lower court ordered the officers' prosecution, a move now reversed by the sessions court.

District and sessions judge Ajay Sharma highlighted errors in the previous court's ruling, citing the legitimacy of the encounter and errors in assessing the FSL and ballistic reports. The court reinstated the legality of the operation, underscoring that public servants should not be unjustly prosecuted without substantial evidence of wrongdoing.

(With inputs from agencies.)