In most of shoot outs carried by Delhi Police there are certain features that remain common.

The most common is lack of any eye witness. Whenever an unnatural death takes place the police are supposed to file a case and investigate the incident because it is a cognizable offence. In other words the police have to take note of it. In the case of ordinary citizens it is through the investigation and trial that it is finally determined whether the death was due to an accident or deliberate murder or whether the killing was done in self defence. But when the person/s killed suffer unnatural death caused by agents of the state the killing is never investigated. The routine police claim that the person killed in an encounter actually fired at the police team and that the police fired in self-defence is not corroborated but accepted as truth.

A joint fact finding report by Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Delhi and Peoples’ Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), Delhi.