Patna: The Bihar State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Monday took cognisance of the Bharat Bhushan Tiwari encounter case in Bhojpur district and sought reports from the chief secretary, director general of police (DGP) and Bhojpur SP within four weeks. The next hearing has been fixed for July 13.The action came on a petition filed by advocate S K Jha, who has also approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Delhi seeking an inquiry into the incident.The case also reached the Supreme Court on Monday through a petition seeking the constitution of an independent expert committee headed by a former apex court judge to investigate the alleged extrajudicial killing of Tiwari. The plea has also sought a CBI probe.Advocate Vishal Tiwari mentioned the matter before Justices B V Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi, who directed him to approach the registrar. The petition argues that police cannot act as a “punishing authority” and cites a rise in encounter cases in Bihar as a challenge to the rule of law. It also refers to the Supreme Court’s 2014 guidelines on encounter investigations and seeks an advisory from the Centre directing states to follow them, warning against any justification of killings based on an individual’s criminal record.Meanwhile, Bihar Police acknowledged lapses by officials in handling the case. Additional director general (law and order) Sudhanshu Kumar said police personnel who had gone to speak to Tiwari on June 16, a day before the encounter, failed to handle the situation appropriately.“For this lapse, we have suspended one SHO, two SIs, one ASI and one constable,” Sudhanshu said.The case relates to the death of Tiwari, a resident of Bilauti village. While family members have questioned the circumstances surrounding the encounter, police maintain that he was “mentally unsound” and opened fire, prompting retaliatory action in self-defence. The Bihar govt has already ordered a judicial inquiry.A bench headed by SHRC chairman Justice Anant Manohar Badar directed the authorities to submit their responses before the next hearing. Jha said, “The plea demands FIRs against police personnel involved, a probe monitored by a retired judge, strict action against those found guilty and compensation for the victim’s family.”
