Mumbai:
Former encounter specialist of Mumbai Police Pradeep Sharma was arrested in a fake encounter case on Thursday along with six others. Out of these, three are policemen, while others are civilians. Pradeep has been remanded to police custody till January 14.
Sharma was accused of staging an encounter to kill alleged gangster Lakhan Bhaiya or Ram Narain Gupta in 2006.
Lakhan Singh was killed in a gun-fight in Andheri - a western suburb of Mumbai.
Reacting to the arrest, Lakhan Bhaiaya's brother Ram Prasad Singh Gupta told NDTV: "The arrest of Sharma is a step forward for getting justice. I have been fighting since 2006 to prove my brother's innocence. There has been pressure on me during my fight, but I continued."
There was no criminal case post 1997 against his brother, he said. "In affidavit submitted by police they have accepted cases against Lakhan only till 1997", he added.
Last year in August, the Bombay High Court had directed that an FIR be lodged against 17 policemen, including Pradeep Sharma, in connection with the case, after Lakhan Bhaiya's brother moved court.
The High Court bench observed that the bullet that killed Lakhan Bhaiya was hit from point-blank range.
Sharma was part of the squad that allegedly staged the encounter. Then Police Commissioner A N Roy had filed an affidavit tendering an apology in the case.
Pradeep Sharma: Encounter specialist
Pradeep Sharma was involved in more than 100 encounters in his years of service with the police.
He is also an accused in the custodial killing of Khwaja Yunus, a young engineer allegedly involved in the Ghatkopar blasts of 2002. Sharma was transferred out of Mumbai to Amravati in 2006 for his role in that killing.
In April 2008, then Shiv Sena Leader of Opposition Ramdas Kadam alleged Sharma had amassed property worth Rs 5,000 crore. An inquiry was ordered.
Sharma was the first senior encounter specialist to be removed from active duty in 2008, after being accused of having links with the underworld.
Sharma then moved the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) for relief.
In May 2009, the MAT quashed his dismissal order, as it felt the charges weren't proved. The MAT asked the state government to reinstate him with immediate effect and with back wages.
The state government has still not reinstated him.
Sharma was accused of staging an encounter to kill alleged gangster Lakhan Bhaiya or Ram Narain Gupta in 2006.
Lakhan Singh was killed in a gun-fight in Andheri - a western suburb of Mumbai.
Reacting to the arrest, Lakhan Bhaiaya's brother Ram Prasad Singh Gupta told NDTV: "The arrest of Sharma is a step forward for getting justice. I have been fighting since 2006 to prove my brother's innocence. There has been pressure on me during my fight, but I continued."
There was no criminal case post 1997 against his brother, he said. "In affidavit submitted by police they have accepted cases against Lakhan only till 1997", he added.
Last year in August, the Bombay High Court had directed that an FIR be lodged against 17 policemen, including Pradeep Sharma, in connection with the case, after Lakhan Bhaiya's brother moved court.
The High Court bench observed that the bullet that killed Lakhan Bhaiya was hit from point-blank range.
Sharma was part of the squad that allegedly staged the encounter. Then Police Commissioner A N Roy had filed an affidavit tendering an apology in the case.
Pradeep Sharma: Encounter specialist
Pradeep Sharma was involved in more than 100 encounters in his years of service with the police.
He is also an accused in the custodial killing of Khwaja Yunus, a young engineer allegedly involved in the Ghatkopar blasts of 2002. Sharma was transferred out of Mumbai to Amravati in 2006 for his role in that killing.
In April 2008, then Shiv Sena Leader of Opposition Ramdas Kadam alleged Sharma had amassed property worth Rs 5,000 crore. An inquiry was ordered.
Sharma was the first senior encounter specialist to be removed from active duty in 2008, after being accused of having links with the underworld.
Sharma then moved the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) for relief.
In May 2009, the MAT quashed his dismissal order, as it felt the charges weren't proved. The MAT asked the state government to reinstate him with immediate effect and with back wages.
The state government has still not reinstated him.
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