The Bombay High Court’s verdict on Tuesday convicted former Mumbai Police ‘encounter specialist’ Pradeep Rameshwar Sharma, sentencing him to life imprisonment for the staged killing of Ramnarayan Gupta, also known as Lakhan Bhaiyya, an alleged member of the Chhota Rajan gang. The incident occurred in November 2006 at Nana Nani Park in Versova.
In their ruling, justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse overturned Sharma’s earlier acquittal and affirmed the convictions and life sentences of 13 other defendants, including another ‘encounter specialist’ Pradeep Suryavanshi. They were found guilty of abducting the victim and his friend, Anil Bheda, from Vashi in Navi Mumbai, before executing the staged encounter in Mumbai.
Senior advocate Rajeev Chavan, representing the prosecution, detailed that Lakhan Bhaiyya and Bheda were forcefully taken by a Mumbai Police team from Bheda’s residence in Vashi and subsequently killed on November 11, 2006. Police alleged that Lakhan Bhaiyya, aged 38, was involved in various criminal activities including murder, extortion, and attempted murder.
The Mumbai sessions court had previously acquitted Sharma in 2013 while convicting several police personnel, including Suryavanshi, and others, who were then sentenced to life imprisonment. Six accused were acquitted, and proceedings were abated against two who passed away during the appeals process before the high court.
Following a petition from the victim’s brother and advocate Ramprasad Gupta, the High Court initiated a magisterial enquiry in February 2008, concluding that the encounter was staged and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by IPS officer KMM Prasanna to investigate the matter.
The SIT, in its charge sheet filed on April 3, 2010, implicated 22 accused, revealing that Sharma and Suryavanshi were allegedly contracted by real estate agent Janardhan Bhange, who had disputes with Lakhan Bhaiyya over joint land transactions, to eliminate him. The involvement of other defendants in executing the encounter was also highlighted in the investigation.
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