Jamshedpur, July 29: Disappointed over the outcome of a CID inquiry into the alleged fake encounter of one Bhola Singh in 2004, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has decided to approach the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for reopening the case.

The PUCL has also demanded a probe by a rights panel team. Subrato Bhattacharjee, the president of PUCL (Jharkhand unit), said that they was shocked to find a reply from the NHRC recently stating that Bhola, a resident of Bokaro, was killed in a real encounter and not a fake one as the PUCL had alleged in its complaint.

“We decided to approach the NHRC after a meeting of our state committee members here yesterday. We will urge it to reopen the case,” Bhattacharjee said.

On September 10, 2003, Bhola had written to the NHRC from Chas jail, saying he feared death in the hands of the police. Seven months later, on April 10, 2004, he was killed in a reported encounter at Parvati Ghat in the Bistupur police station area, the PUCL said.

According to its findings, several persons, including the priest of Shitala temple, had claimed that a police team had picked up a man from the premises after having surrounded it from all sides.

The police report, however, said that Bhola had come to the temple with an aide to collect extortion money from a Bistupur-based businessman, Dilip Mulchandani. Police surrounded the temple. Bhola, they said, was killed while trying to flee after allegedly firing on them.