Manoj Vashishtha was the victim of Police Encounter on May 17, 2015 at Sagar Ratna Restaurant in New Delhi. The Incident took place late evening when Vashisht was having a dinner-cum-meeting with a business partner.
Manoj Vashisht was killed in Sagar Ratna Restaurant Encounter Case
Manoj Vashisht ran a tour and travel business named Adventure Zine Tour and Travels. He was also a property dealer and had set up several companies under the banner of RCS group which had its registered offices at Barakhamba Road and Tilak Nagar in New Delhi. Vashisht also ran an NGO — Deshbhakti Sena Trust, to help the poor. The NGO helped poor in many ways like arranging mass weddings, providing water connections etc.
His wife Priyanka Vashisht is a zila panchayat member from Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. The Vashishts live between Noida and Baghpat and their two daughters study at a convent school in Delhi.
As per police records, there are 4-5 cases against Vashisht over incidents like Cheating, Duping People. One such case was related to duping people by promising to sell them flats, which were not constructed by his company.
In past he has been photographed with several high profile politicians like Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, Union minister Nitin Gadkari and BJP MP Udit Raj. Vashisht had a gun license issued against him in Meerut.
Contrary to the Police’s Claims, he does not appear to be a man in hiding. His Facebook profile had several updates of recent past.
His wife Priyanka Vashisht alleges that the special cell officers have been demanding extortion money from him for past some time. She alleged that on April 29, Manoj was stopped by members of Special Cell at Dhaula Kuan and they demanded extortion money from him. According to her, she had filed a Court complaint against the special cell officers in first week of May. When the court summoned special cell, it said that they were not investigating any cases against Manoj Vashisht.
Meanwhile, the Police rubbishes her claims and say that he was a proclaimed offender. Police says that it was Manoj who opened fire first and the cops shot back in retaliation. The 20 second CCTV video footage released by Police doesot make the picture clear.
Also Read: Manoj Vashishth Encounter Case: Delhi Police releases CCTV footage of restaurant
However, the big question remains unanswered: if there were no serious charges against him, why was special cell pursuing him? The special cell is generally formed to handle serious criminal cases and acts of terror in the City.
Moreover if we consider the claims made by Priyanka Vahisht to be true, why did special cell inform the court that they were not pursuing any cases against Manoj Vashisht.
While Delhi Police has formed an Special Investigation Team, Delhi Government has ordered a Magisterial Enquiry into the Encounter Case.
Also Read: Delhi Police forms SIT to probe Encounter of Manoj Vashishtha