655 ‘encounter killings’ reported over five years, govt tells Parliament

As many as 655 “encounter killings” have been reported from across the country over the last five years, minister of state for home Nityanand Rai told Parliament on Tuesday.

Rai was responding to Bharatiya Janata Party member Varun Gandhi’s question on the number of such killings in the country including Uttar Pradesh from January 1, 2017. He said 191 police “encounter killings” were reported from Chhattisgarh followed by Uttar Pradesh (117), Assam (50), Jharkhand (49), Odisha (36), Jammu and Kashmir (35), Maharashtra (26), Bihar (22), Haryana (15 ) and Tamil Nadu (14).

Rai added 13 cases each were reported from Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh, nine each from Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya, and eight each from Rajasthan and Delhi.

In response to Gandhi’s question on ongoing probes against police officers on charges of “encounter killings” and the number of them convicted in such cases, Rai said that no such record is maintained centrally as police and public order are state subjects.