Patiala, April 13 -- Amid a sharp rise in police encounters across the state, families of those killed and injured have come forward to question the official narrative, alleging that the encounters were staged. They have demanded independent investigations into the incidents, claiming their loved ones were targeted without due process.

Recently, the kin of a drug peddling accused injured in a police encounter in Rajpura - he was shot in the leg - alleged that the gunfight was fake. In another incident that occurred on March 13, police had rescued a seven-year-old boy within 24 hours of his abduction for a Rs.1-crore ransom with the main accused being killed in an exchange of fire with cops at Mandour Khera village on Nabha Road in Patial...