Jhansi: Encounter target releases audio clip, claims police warned him beforehand, asked him to strike deal with BJP leaders

In an embarrassing episode for the Uttar Pradesh Police, a police officer has allegedly been recorded discussing a planned encounter with the target and advising him to make a deal with BJP leaders. [caption id=“attachment_4172789” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] In an audio clip, the Station House Officer of Mauranipur, Suneet Kumar Singh is heard telling Lekhraj Singh Yadav, an accused in several murder and extortion cases, about a planned encounter, reported The Telegraph. “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 person believed to be Singh, who has been suspended pending an inquiry. Yadav recorded his phone call with Singh on Friday and even escaped an encounter soon after, according to NDTV. On Saturday, he released the clip to the media. The clip has gone viral since then and was sent for forensic examination. In the clip, Singh tells Yadav that he can’t help him and tells him to “manage” Babina lawmaker Rajiv Singh Paricha and Sanjay Dubey, BJP’s district president, and strike a deal with them. Paricha, whose name was taken along with Dubey by the SHO in the audio clip, told The New Indian Express, “it seems that the SHO is trying to strike a deal with the criminal and to add weight to his claim he is taking our names.” If the contents of the audio were genuine, SHO’s loyalty towards the police department was questionable, said the BJP MLA.