State remits life sentence for 11 out of 13 cops; kin of the murdered to challenge order.The state government, on behalf of the governor, issued an order remitting the life sentences of 11 people who were accused in the 2006 ‘Lakhan Bhaiya’ fake encounter case.Vashi resident Lakhan Bhaiya, 33, whose real name was Ramnarayan Gupta, was branded a gangster and killed in a staged police shooting in Versova on November 11, 2006. The prosecution alleged that the encounter was led by former senior inspector Pradeep Sharma, who conspired with Lakhan Bhaiya's disgruntled business partner to bump him off.Twenty-one people, including 13 policemen, were convicted and awarded life sentences by the Mumbai sessions court in July 2013.Ex-encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, who was also an accused in the case, was acquitted, while three other policemen -- Inspectors Pradeep Suryawanshi, Dilip Palande, and constable Tanaji Desai -- were convicted of murder. The remaining 18 accused were convicted of abetting the encounter.The Home department of the state issued the orders on behalf of the governor, on Wednesday, under Section 432 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which grants discretionary power to the state government to remit sentences of convicts.The order states that those who will be released are Dilip Palande, Nitin Sartape, Ganesh Harpude, Anand Patade, Prakash Kadam, Devidas Sakpal, Pandurang Kokam, Ratnakar Kamble, Sandeep Sardar, Tanaji Desai and Vinayak Shinde.The 11 accused had applied to the state seeking a suspension of their sentence and the government had accordingly sought a say from all the concerned departments regarding the case.The Home department issued orders to this effect after receiving the responses from all the concerned departments. The government has kept 10 conditions for the convicts to adhere to, and if found flouting any, the order will be cancelled with immediate effect.One of the conditions mentioned in the order states that the convicts have been released for a period of six months at present.“It is a general procedure according to which, people are initially released for six months under Section 432 of the CrPC, and then they get an extension on the same once the six month period is over,” said a senior police officer.Other than the 11 who will be released after the order, only one policeman -- Pradeep Suryanwanshi -- will remain behind bars. One out of the convicted 13 had died while serving his sentence in jail after suffering a cardiac arrest. Suryawanshi has also applied for a remission of his sentence but is still awaiting an order on it.Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, the deceased Ramnarayan Gupta’s brother said, “I will challenge the order and see that it is cancelled. Those accused of killing my brother have been sentenced to life by the honourable court. They cannot be free despite that.”