Even as procedural formalities for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the investigations in the Ranbir Singh encounter case are on, the Uttarakhand CID continued with its investigations into the case for the third day.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) CID Vijay Raghav Pant told The Indian Express, “We are carrying on with the work entrusted to us. The exercise involving collection of the material as well as oral evidence is on. The weapons used in the encounter have been taken into custody by the team.”

The CID team led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Vimla Gunjyal has been subdivided into various teams to expedite the investigations into the matter that has been hitting the headlines regularly and has proved to be a big dampener on the image of the Dehradun Police which takes pride in calling itself “Mitr Police”.

With the case being handed over to the CID and later being recommended for a CBI investigation by the state Chief Minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank, the Dehradun police is now nowhere in the picture in investigating any aspect of the entire episode.

A total of four First Information Reports (FIRs) have been lodged in the entire episode that began on July 3. The first one pertains to the alleged scuffle that the deceased Ranbir Singh and his two friends had with a police Sub Inspector and their fleeing with the latter’s service revolver. The second case again has been registered against Ranbir Singh and his two friends under the Arms Act as they were allegedly in possession of two country made pistols.

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