Nitish Kumar questions Chennai encounter, demands probe

New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has demanded a thorough inquiry into the encounter killing of five men, four of them from Bihar, who died when the police rained bullets at the house they were lodged in, at Velachery in Chennai. The incident happened on the morning of February 23.

The police claimed the five were involved in a series of bank robberies in the city.

According to the police, the encounter happened when instead of surrendering, the alleged suspects opened fire at the police injuring two inspectors.

However, people in the immediate vicinity of the house revealed they did not hear any gunshots.

The five persons have now been identified with the help of their voter-ID cards and driving licences that were recovered from the spot. The deceased are Chandrika Ray, Harish Kumar, Vinay Prasad, Vinod Kumar (all from Bihar) and Abhay Kumar from West Bengal.

Kumar said, "I have spoken to the Tamil Nadu government. I have asked the government to inquire about the identity of those killed," he said, adding, "A complete inquiry is going on. One person who was supposedly killed, is said to be alive in Bihar."

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday issued notices to Director General of Tamil Nadu Police and Chennai District Magistrate asking them to investigate the death of five suspected burglars in a police encounter.

The direction came after the commission received a complaint on the basis of media reports that claimed that the encounter was false.

The notices were issued to Tamil Nadu's Director General of Police and the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police in Chennai.

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