Mathura: All 11 former policemen from Rajasthan convicted for killing Raja Maan Singh of the erstwhile Bharatpur royal family and his two colleagues over 35 years ago in Deeg area were awarded life sentence by a court here Wednesday. The 11 policemen were sentenced to life term by Mathura District Judge Sadhna Rani Thakur.
Among those convicted are former Deeg Deputy SP Kan Singh and local police station in-charge, sub-Inspector Virendra Singh. They had led a police team in killing Raja Maan Singh and his two colleagues Sumer Singh and Hari Singh. They killed Raja Maan Singh and his two associates in an alleged encounter February 21, 1985 in an encounter.
The other policemen sentenced for the crime are Sukh Ram, Jeevan Ram, Jag Mohan, Bhanwar Singh, Hari Singh, Chhatar Singh, Sher Singh, Daya Ram and Ravi Shekhar.
The encounter had taken place in Deeg grain market. It happened a day after Raja Man Singh had allegedly banged his jeep into former Rajasthan Chief Minister Shiv Charan Mathur’s helicopter. Maan Singh was then contesting the state Vidhan Sabha elections as an independent candidate.
According to the prosecution, Maan Singh was also accused of damaging some publicity material and a stage. The stage was set up for Mathur to address an election rally in favour of the Congress candidate Brajendra Singh.
Days after the killings of the royal family chief and his two colleagues, the case was transferred by the then central government to the CBI February 27, 1985.
The trial was later shifted from a Jaipur special court to Mathura in Uttar Pradesh by the Supreme Court in November 1989. It was done on the plea of complainant Vijay Singh, a son-in-law of the slain Maan Singh.