Mumbai, March 20: In a significant verdict, the Bombay High Court upheld the life imprisonment of former Mumbai Police encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma and 13 others, including 12 police personnel, related to the fake encounter killing of Lakhan Bhaiya in 2006. The court’s decision marks the first conviction of police officers in a fake encounter case.
Lakhan Bhaiya, whose real name was Ramnarayan Gupta, was allegedly a former aide of the notorious gangster Chhota Rajan. He was abducted and killed in a staged police shooting in Versova on November 11, 2006. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) alleged that the encounter was led by former senior inspector Pradeep Sharma, who conspired with Bhaiya’s disgruntled business partner to eliminate him.
Pradeep Sharma, famously known as an “Encounter Specialist,” has had a controversial career. Dismissed from the police force twice, Sharma has faced various allegations, including links with the underworld and amassing substantial wealth. Despite his acquittal in the Lakhan Bhaiya case in 2013, Sharma was re-arrested in 2021 in connection with the Antilia Bomb Scare and Mansukh Hiran Murder Case.
The court, in its ruling, upheld the life sentence for 13 convicts and acquitted six civilians. Notably, the offence against one civilian and one cop was abated as they died after conviction. Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse, who reserved the appeals for judgment on November 8, 2023, lamented the “gruesome” death of the sole eyewitness, Anil Bheda, days before his deposition in 2011. The court called it a “shame” and a “travesty of justice” that the prime witness lost his life without anyone being booked, expressing hope that Bheda’s perpetrators would be prosecuted.
Regarding Pradeep Sharma’s acquittal earlier, the High Court criticized the trial judge for overlooking relevant material and termed the finding of acquittal as “perverse” and “unsustainable.” The court stated that all circumstances point towards Sharma’s guilt in the case.
The case saw extensive legal proceedings, with 110 prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses examined. Despite challenges such as the disappearance of the sole eyewitness and the overturning (unsustainability) of ballistic reports, Lakhan Bhaiya’s brother, Ramprasad Gupta, played a crucial role in pursuing justice. He appealed against Sharma’s exoneration and requested punishment by death for 12 police officers implicated in the confrontation.
While the verdict brings closure to one chapter of Mumbai’s encounter history, it also underscores the need for accountability and transparency within the police to maintain public confidence in the justice system.
