Indian court sentences 47 policemen to life in fake gunfight case

An Indian court Monday sentenced 47 policemen to life for killing 11 Sikh pilgrims in staged gunfights after labeling them as terrorists, 25 years ago, officials said.

A trial court designated to hear the cases investigated by India's premier investigating agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Friday held the policemen guilty of staging three "fake gunfights" on the night of July 12, 1991 in Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh.

Only 10 bodies were recovered and one of the pilgrims is still considered to be missing.

The accused policemen stopped a bus carrying Sikh pilgrims who were returning from a visit to their holy shrines and took away 11 passengers from it.

A charge-sheet produced in the court reads the detained passengers were divided into groups and killed in "cold blood".

The policemen next day claimed they had killed 10 Sikh militants.

The motive behind the killings was said to earn awards in recognition for killing "terrorists", (CBI) is reported to have found during its course of investigation.

CBI was probed the case on the orders of India's Supreme Court.

Fifty-seven policemen were charged in the case, but 10 have died since then.

At the time of pronouncing the judgement, of the 47 policemen guilty in case, only 20 were present in the court.

While they were immediately arrested, arrest warrants against the remaining convicts were issued.

Armed insurgency against Indian rule in northern state of Punjab broke out in 1980 and Indian troops faced a bloody uprising from Sikh separatists until mid 1990s.

Several thousand people mostly Sikhs were killed in more than a decade long militancy in the state. However, after 1993, the state has been relatively peaceful. Endit