BHARAT’ BROTHER AND A VILLAGER’S STATEMENT RECORDED

BHARAT’ BROTHER AND A VILLAGER’S STATEMENT RECORDED

15-JULY-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------In the high-profile Bilauti encounter case, the statements of the deceased Bharat Bhushan Tiwari’s brother, Chandan Tiwari, and a villager, Lalita Devi, were recorded on Tuesday. They appeared before the Judicial Inquiry Commission—constituted by the state government and headed by Justice Vinod Kumar Sinha, a retired judge of the Patna High Court—and presented various facts regarding the incident and their perspective in detail.

Speaking to the media, the deceased's brother, Chandan Tiwari, stated that he recounted the sequence of events to the Commission exactly as they had unfolded on the day of the police encounter. Chandan Tiwari mentioned that he was questioned by the Commission for half an hour and expressed dissatisfaction with the government's actions; notably, no police personnel have been arrested in the encounter case so far. Responding to a question, he stated that while he has full faith in the judiciary, he does not trust the Bihar government and now pins his hopes on the Central Government.

Meanwhile, Lalita Devi, a resident of Javainiya village, also gave her statement to the Commission. She recounted that Bharat Bhushan Tiwari had already thrown away his weapon when the police apprehended and shot him. She said, "We were watching from our hut. After being hit by the police bullet, he was chanting 'Jai Bharat-Jai Hind'."

According to Lalita Devi, Bharat Bhushan Tiwari was like a god to them; he had been fighting for issues such as roads, water, and electricity. It is worth noting that in the high-profile Bilauti police encounter case, seven people—including the deceased's parents, brother, and sister-in-law—have testified so far, with 25 more testimonies yet to be recorded.