47 policemen sentenced to life in Pilibhit fake encounter case

A CBI court sentenced 47 policemen on Monday to life imprisonment for killing 11 Sikh pilgrims in a staged encounter in 1991 in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district, bringing the decades- long trial to a close.

A CBI court sentenced 47 policemen on Monday to life imprisonment for killing 11 Sikh pilgrims in a staged encounter in 1991 in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district, bringing the decades- long trial to a close.

(Representative image) Fifty seven policemen were named in a chargesheet four years later but 10 died during the course of the trial. (Picture courtesy: Fotolia)

The Central Bureau of Investigation court announced a compensation of Rs 14 lakh to the families of the 11 victims. The order triggered protests by relatives of the convicts.

The 47 policemen were convicted last Friday for pulling the 11 pilgrims out of a bus in July 1991, shooting them in three separate staged encounters and later branding them militants to cover up the incident.

Fifty seven policemen were named in a charge sheet four years later but 10 died during the course of the trial.

The motive for the encounter was said to be the bounty tied to killing militants at a time when insurgency in Punjab hadn’t died down.