Gadoli fake encounter: Copy-paste goof-up delays trial against Haryana cops

Sandeep Gadoli

The trial in gangster Sandeep Gadoli's 2016 fake encounter case might be delayed further, all due to a clerical goof-up by the Haryana police. The error has forced the Mumbai Police to send back the prosecution sanction granted against three of the five accused Gurgaon policemen.

As per rules, if any other state's police officer is arrested in a case, the investigating agency has to seek permission from that state to prosecute them. Sources in the Mumbai Police said that a week or two ago, the Haryana government had granted sanctions to prosecute five Gurgaon cops in the case, after the Mumbai Crime Branch had sent them a letter asking for the same.

While the police got error-free sanctions against constables Jitendra Yadav and Deepak Kakram, those against sub-inspector Pradhyaman Yadav and two other constables had to be resent as they had simple copy-paste mistakes, sources said.

The five Gurgaon cops were arrested by a Special Investigation Team that was investigating the February 7, 2016, encounter after finding out that they had acted without official permission from their superiors in the fake encounter at the Airport Metro hotel in Andheri, which led to Gadoli's death. The cops had earlier claimed to have killed Gadoli in self-defence, but they were caught on CCTV firing at an unarmed Gadoli.

According to the Mumbai Crime Branch, after the investigation, the Gurgaon police had said in a report that the accused did not take official permission for their actions.

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