Cong MLA threatens resignation, demands CBI probe for Prajapat encounter case

A Congress MLA from Barmer district said he will resign from the assembly if a CBI probe is not ordered into the killing of smuggler Kamlesh Prajapat in a police encounter, which he claimed was fake.

Prajapat, a resident of Cheeter Ka village in Barmer, was killed on the outskirts of Barmer city on April 23 night. Barmer SP Anand Sharma had said that following an input on the location of Prajapat, police reached there to catch the accused, but he tried to escape and attempted to kill a policeman. In self-defence, police were forced to open fire in which Prajapat was killed.

“Only a CBI probe could reveal the truth in the case. Though I am an MLA of the ruling party in the state, justice is first priority for me. I am demanding a CBI probe and justice to the family. I will resign if my demand is not accepted,” Madan Prajapat, Congress MLA from Pachpadra constituency, said at a press conference on Thursday.

Along with Madan Prajapat, union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, BJP leader Rajendra Singh Rathore, and Congress leader and former MP Manvendra Singh also demanded a CBI probe into the case.

The leaders alleged that it was a planned murder by the Barmer police, after two videos related to the encounter circulated on social media.

The viral videos related to the encounter purportedly show that Prajapat had not fired at the police. They show that police had fired at the accused. In the videos, policemen are purportedly seen breaking the windshield of Prajapat’s car and lifting him into another vehicle.

Meanwhile, community members formed a committee to intensify their demand for a CBI probe.

“Some videos of Kamlesh Prajapat encounter that went viral on social media show that it was a police killing not am encounter. The phone call details of deceased Kamlesh Prajapat could reveal the facts of the case,” said former Barmer council chairperson Balram Prajapat, who is heading the committee.