Jyoti Belur missing link in fake encounter

GHAZIABAD: The Ghaziabad CBI court which on Monday convicted four cops in the infamous Bhojpur fake encounter case will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Wednesday. However the then circle officer of Modinagar, Jyoti Belur, an IPS officer of the 1993 batch, is still the missing link in the case as she has failed to appear in the court during the trial.
The CBI, which had filed the chargesheet in the case on September 10, 2001, did not name her as an accused. But the court while hearing the case under the powers of 319 CrPc treated her as an accused. “The role of Jyoti Belur in the Bhojpur encounter had come under the scanner after CBI investigation revealed that the a bullet found in the body of Jasbir Singh was fired from her service revolver,” public prosecutor Rajan Dhaiya said. “Though she was not named in the CBI chargesheet, the court by invoking Section 319 of CrPc treated her as an accused and in 2007 she was issued summons. Her extradition is also being considered,” he said.
Point No. 11 in an 11-page chargesheet filed by the CBI says “… The ballistic expert has also opined that the 2nd bullet recovered from the body of deceased Jasbir Singh was fired from the revolver issued in the name of Smt Jyoti Belur, the then ASP of Modinagar. She was not present at the spot, when (A-1) Lal Singh fired at Jasbir Singh according to eyewitnesses.” The chargesheet further says “… Investigation has further revealed that Jyoti Belur was in Ghaziabad when she received the message on the wireless set passed on by (A-1) Lal Singh that two ‘badmash’ have been killed in an encounter and two are hiding in the nearby sugarcane field. She immediately left Ghaziabad and reached Machheria Ki Pulia within about 45 minutes after receipt of the message …”
Meanwhile, a source said that Belur was a victim of circumstances as it was her first posting. “It is true that the bullet was fired from her service revolver but the fact is that a junior cop had fired from her service revolver,” the source said.