A voice suspected to be that of a UP police officer is heard threatening a murder accused to kill him in an encounter and warning him to manage the local MLA and BJP leader to save himself, reported The Telegraph.
In the eight-minute audio, the voice, allegedly of Suneet Kumar Singh, station house officer of Mauranipur in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district, is heard threatening Lekhraj Singh Yadav, an accused in several murder and extortion cases.
The report has come at a time chief minister Yogi Adityanath-led UP government has been facing massive criticism for the spike of encounter killing in the state. Adityanath had said the police had carried out 1,142 encounters during his one year in power, killing 34 criminals.
The officer has been suspended since then and a probe has been ordered.
'"The season of encounters is on.... Your mobile number is under surveillance and you will be killed soon. Manage the Babina MLA and the BJP district president if you want to save yourself," says the officer, as quoted by the newspaper.
"We are the biggest criminals," the voice adds, laughing. "I have killed many people and thrown them away.... You are a good man. God is with you.... But my history is very bad and my future is bright," Singh says.
According to NDTV, Yadav, an accused in dozens of murder, kidnapping and extortion cases, is currently out on bail.
UP director general of police OP Singh told NDTV that it's "totally wrong to say that the police and the BJP are fixing encounters". "We have ordered an enquiry and the police officer has already been suspended. But I can't comment on opposition's allegations," he said.
According to a report by The Indian Express, data sourced from DGP Headquarters shows as many as 1,142 encounters were recorded between March 20, 2017 and January 31 this year in Uttar Pradesh.
