Jodhpur, Oct 14 (PTI) A man, wanted in several criminal cases, was killed in an encounter with police here, police said on Thursday. However, the family members of Lovely Kandara said he was killed in a fake encounter for being a Dalit. Police said Kandara was a history-sheeter and 12 cases, including attempt to murder, were registered against him. They said Kandara succumbed to bullet injuries he sustained in police’s retaliatory firing after he opened fire on them while they tried to nab him in the Ratanada area on Wednesday evening. His three accomplices, who also have criminal records, were arrested by police and arms and ammunition was seized from them, they added. After Kandara’s death, his family members and villagers gathered at the MDM Hospital morgue and termed his killing as murder by police. They did not allow for post-mortem of the body and demanded suspension of four policemen and the SHO of Ratanada. They were also demanding a probe by the CBI or a retired judge into the killing and a government job to a family member of Kandara. Police Commissioner, Jodhpur, Jose Mohan said the situation is under control and police are trying to convince the family to allow the post-mortem of the body. Many community leaders, including former chairman of Safai Commission Chandraprakash, said the police deliberately targeted Kandara for being a Dalit. Expressing solidarity with Kandara, sanitation workers of the city had announced a strike on Thursday and refused to carry out sanitation work. Police said Kandara’s elder brother Montu Kandara is also a history-sheeter and police had been searching for both of them in a case related to a lethal assault on a person. PTI COR AQS AQS