India reported 655 police 'encounter killings' over five years, Assam reports 50

Guwahati, Feb 9: A total of 655 police "encounter" killings were registered across the country between January 1, 2017, and January 31, 2022, Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Chhattisgarh reported the highest number of such cases with 191 cases while Uttar Pradesh reported 117 incidents.

After Chattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, Assam has the highest number of incidents with 50 cases. 49 cases were reported in Jharkhand, 36 in Odisha and 35 in Jammu and Kashmir, and 26 in Maharashtra, according to the Union Home Ministry.

Rai was responding to BJP MP Varun Gandhi's question in the Lok Sabha on the number of such killings in the country.

Among other states, Bihar accounts for 22 cases; Haryana 15; Tamil Nadu 14; Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh 13 each; Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya 9 each; and Rajasthan and Delhi 8 each.

As per reports, responding to Gandhi's query on ongoing probes against police officers on charges of "encounter killings" and the number of them convicted in such cases, Rai said that no such record is maintained centrally as police and public order are state subjects.