fYI
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From: SANSAD <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sun, Oct 26, 2008 at 9:40 AM
Subject: Jamia Nagar 'Encounter' - Or was it cold-blooded murder by
the Delhi police?
To: List Suppressed <Recipient>
Dear friends:
This despatch concerns the alleged "encounter" death of two Muslim
youth in the Jamia Nagar of Delhi on September 19 this year. Much has
been written about it in the media. Many investigative reports have
been produced.
We send you, first, a note the SANSAD president sent on October 10 to
the organizers of a Public Hearing in the Jamia "encounter" episode.
This is followed by the Verdict of the People's Hearings.
The Despatch also appends links to the following:
1. A CNN-IBN interview by Karan Thapar of Arundhati Roy. A MUST read.
2. A public statement by Jamia teachers Forum.
3. An article by Hasrh Mander, "The Real Travesty"
4. An article by Prafull Bidwai "Guilty until Proven Innocent"
5. A prelimnary report from a citizens' fact finding team
6. Another Investigative report from Jan Hastakshep and other
citizen's organizations.
And finally:
7. A report on another attempted "encounter' in the Jamia
Nagar of Delhi which was foiled by local people's timely
intervention.
SANSAD
**************
Letter from SANSAD president to the Public Hearings organizers:
Dear Anuradha Ghosh, the Organizers and Participants in the Jan Sunwai
being held on Sunday, October 11:
We received only today the announcement of the "Public Hearings" on
the Batla House 'Encounter' and congratulate you for this worthy
initiative. And as we send this note from Canada on Saturday night,
you must already be in the process of starting the people's hearings.
Still, we send this quick note of support and solidarity.
Over the last several weeks, we have reviewed a large number of
newspaper accounts, independent investigative reports, and statements
from people from all walks of life, including from the Vice Chancellor
of the Jamia Millia Institute, Prof. Mushirul Hasan. And we have been
shocked and agonized over how the calculated cold-blooded murder of
innocient students, Arif and Sajid, has been portrayed as "encounter"
deaths of "terrorists".
"Encounter deaths" is a distinctive Indian phenomenon. For almost
forty years, the "democratic" state of India has been intentionally
using it as a euphemism for cold-blooded extra-judicial killng by the
police forces. No society with pretentions of respecting a minimum
respect for the "rule of law" could allow its police force to be the
killers without being accounatabe for its acts. India has done it over
decades, starting from the days of "annihilating" suspected Naxalaites
in the early seventies in West Bengal, and many other parts of India,
without any due judicial process. It reached new heights in the KPS
Gill days of Punjab, a police chief who was given the unprecedented
carte blance authority to go after his suspected victims anywhere in
India, to kill at will. We have seen its ugly manifestations in
Narinder Modi's Gujarat over the past few years. The story of Kashmir
is incomplete without a reference to how the policc force - and also
the para military and miitlary forces - have used arbitrary authority
to kill innocent people with full impunity, The practice continues in
practically every part of India now. There is also the Armed Forces
Special Powers Act (AFSPA) of 1958, still operative in most of
North-east India, and Jammu and Kashmir, which gives ordinary
soldiers of the Army the power to arrest without warrant and
shoot-to-kill, with total impunity.
We sincerely hope that the Tribunal looking into the killings of
innocent youth in the Jamia area of New Delhi goes all the way to
expose not just what happened there on September 19, but also to
question the wide-spread practice of extra-judicial killings by
police: here, there and every where in India.
In full solidarity
hari sharma
president, SANSAD
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:14:40 +0545
Verdict of the Jan Sunwai (Public Hearings) Jury
Academics and activists seek Judicial probe into the 19th September
encounter by a sitting Supreme Court judge; Demand that investigations
be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigations
A Jan Sunwai on the Batla House 'Encounter' was organized by the Jamia
Teachers' Solidarity Group outside Khalilullah Masjid in Jamia Nagar
on 12th October (Sunday). The following scholars and activists
associated with civil rights movement constituted the jury:
Swami Agnivesh, Member, National Integration Council
John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council
Tanika Sarkar, Professor of History, JNU
Tripta Wahi, Rtd. Professor of History, Delhi University
Vijay Singh, Professor of History, Delhi University
Nirmalangshu Mukherji, Professor of Philosophy, Delhi University
Harsh Mandar, Social Activist
The need to hold a Public Hearing in the neighbourhood became
imperative to counter the increasing communalization of public
discourse in relation to the issue of terrorism and its association
with the Muslim community. The on-going targeting of the community by
the media and the different institutions of the State as well as
political parties has increased the sense of alienation and fear. To
overcome this situation and to extend solidarity to the community
residing in the Jamia Nagar area particularly by members of the
liberal, secular, democratic intelligentsia belonging to different
communities created a space of dialogue. This act of solidarity was
welcomed by the people who attended in thousands to be part of the
deliberations.
After hearing over a dozen testimonies given by local residents, the
jury observed the following.
A) The people of Jamia Nagar participated overwhelmingly in the
Jan Sunwai. The predominant sentiment among the local residents about
the 'encounter' is one of anger and disbelief. This feeling was
articulated by the participants and those who gave testimony. Local
residents have taken strong exception to the stereotyping of young
Muslim educated youth in this area and also in general as terrorists.
The links that the media and the state is making between education,
especially professional technical education among the Muslim youth and
terrorism has fueled fears that it will inhibit the progress and
social advancement of the community.
B) It is noted that prior to moving to L-18, the deceased had
verifications proofs in place with the local police. Sajid had
appeared for his 11th class examination at Jamia School and all
address details were genuine. Atif had enrolled in Jamia Millia
islamia. Till date, all identification records submitted by them have
been found to be true. The verification details for obtaining their
mobile connections are also genuine. These proofs establish the
credibility of the boys killed in the encounter as students seeking
opportunities and a career in the city.
C) The statement by people who bathed the bodies of the dead boys
before their burial was striking: they testified that the skin on
Atif's back was sloughed off; there was smell in his body; there were
multiple bullet injuries on Sajid's head. These cast aspersions on the
police version.
D) On the nature of firing, all residents uniformly testified
that the firing happened in quick succession punctuated by short
intervals for nearly an hour after Inspector Sharma was brought down.
People testified that they had seen him coming down with injury -
blood was oozing out from the wound. The members of the locality
raised questions about the long duration of firing in L-18. The death
of Inspector Sharma too is shrouded in mystery.
E) The witnesses also expressed their anguish about the way in
which the police kept the community on tenterhooks about the burial of
the bodies. The handing over of the bodies was delayed and the entire
process was marked by complete lack of sensitivity in relation to the
dead. The Jury feels that minimum human sensibilities must be
respected regardless of the charges against the dead.
The jury strongly feels that there is ample ground to doubt the
veracity of the police version of the sequence of events on 19th
September. Following these observations in the jan sunwai, the Jury
demands:
A) Judicial probe into the 19th September encounter by a sitting
Supreme Court judge
B) The investigations must be handed over to the Central Bureau
of Investigations.
The jury is of the view that the on-going targeting of the Muslim
minority in the country has created an atmosphere of fear and anxiety.
The complete disregard and violation of fundamental civil rights in
the process of the State's efforts to control 'terrorist' activities
has raised questions regarding the secular character of the Indian
democracy and the impartiality of its institutions. The widespread
sense of alienation among the minorities can only be mitigated by
ensuring justice.
Released by the Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Group
****************
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:34:32 +0530
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/mediapolice-collusion-is-a-threat-to-society/76234-3.html
Devil's Advocate: Arundhati on media-police collusion
CNN-IBN
DEVIL IN THE DETAILS: Arundhati warns Dalits, Muslims and Adivasis are
feeling marginalised.
Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to Devil's Advocate. Why is Arundhati
Roy angry with the police and upset with the press? That's the key
issue I shall explore today. Arundhati Roy, let's start with the
recent encounter in Jamia Nagar in New Delhi. You've called for an
independent judicial enquiry headed by a Supreme Court judge. Why do
you involve yourself into this work? What's your locus standi?
Arundhati Roy: Well, I am just one of those thousands of people who
are asking some very serious questions of the police. The trouble is
that you know, even if you wanted to believe this police version, you
don't know which police version to believe. Does one believe the
Bombay police, the UP police, the Gujarat police or the Delhi police?
All of them have different versions. There's a blizzard of
masterminds. The Additional Commissioner of Mumbai police, Rakesh
Maria recently said that Tauqeer, who is the Delhi police's mastermind
of Indian Mujahideen, is a media creation. The point is who creates
the media creations? Is it the media or the police or do they work
together?
Read the full Interview or even watch the video of it:
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/mediapolice-collusion-is-a-threat-to-society/76234-3.html
***********
JAMIA TEACHERS' FORUM
On the 13th of September Delhi was rocked by a series
of bomb blasts resulting in the loss of innocent lives
and a feeling of anger and insecurity among the
citizens of the country. Exactly two weeks later the
city suffered another blast on 27 September.
There is absolutely no place for heinous acts of
terror that lead to the deaths of innocent people in a
civilized society with such acts only helping
fundamentalist right wing forces. The JTF reiterates
that strong steps need to be taken to combat terrorist
activities in our country and the actual culprits of
these inhuman crimes should be apprehended and
punished under law.
The police action in Jamia Nagar on 19 September, in
which two alleged terrorists Atif and Sajid and one
police officer Mohan Chand Sharma were shot dead, has
raised several questions.
Police versions of encounters in India, be it the
Ansal Plaza shootout in Delhi or Sohrabuddin and
Kausarbi's killings in Gujarat, have often been
untenable and at times even stage-managed. Only a
thorough and independent probe into the Jamia Nagar
encounter can put an end to the various claims and
counter-claims that are being made. The JTF demands
that a judicial enquiry by a judge with impeccable
democratic credentials be instituted at the earliest.
The police must be forced to act in a responsible,
transparent, and accountable manner and cannot be
allowed to harass innocent Muslims, in the form of
indiscriminate arrests. This is what was witnessed in
the days immediately following the encounter. Else, in
the name of fighting terrorism, the Muslim community
will be further alienated. The JTF demands that the
Delhi Police disclose all the arrests made in
connection with the Delhi blasts and provide the basis
for all such arrests. The heavy and intimidating
police presence in Jamia Nagar must be reduced without
delay so that normalcy is restored in the locality.
The teachers of Jamia have decided to set up a
Students Relief Committee (with private donations from
staff , teachers and students), and a Legal Aid
Committee to help those who are under detention. The
JTF supports these efforts and appeals to all teachers
to generously contribute to these two committees. The
University administration should maintain contact with
the students who are in police detention and ensure
that their constitutional rights are not violated. The
university must also provide necessary identification
and verification to all students of the university
living as tenants in the locality so that instances of
insecure landlords evicting their tenants in a panic
reaction are kept under check. To ensure normal
attendance in the University, the administration
should make provisions for accommodating those
students who have been evicted from private hostels in
Jamia Nagar.
The communal stereotyping of Muslim minorities only
alienates them and weakens the fight against
terrorism. That is precisely, what the RSS-BJP is
doing today. We must not forget that Hindu and Muslim
communal organizations are two sides of the same coin,
each reinforcing the other. Stereotyping and profiling
of Muslims belonging to Jamia Nagar, the students of
Jamia Millia Islamia and Muslims hailing from Azamgarh
is also being done by the media. Since the blasts, the
media has tried to sensationalize the issue by
reinforcing communal stereotypes. All this only
provides grist to the mill of communal elements who
are ever keen on making political capital out of human
tragedies. While we are all united against terrorism,
allowing communal typecasting and harassment of
innocent Muslims will only be playing into their
hands.
The JTF condemns terrorism in all its forms and
appeals to secular and democratic minded sections of
society to stand behind the Jamia community and ensure
that the due process of law and justice is not
subverted in the name of fighting terror.
Prof. Inayet Zaidi Prof. R.Gopinath
President Secretary
***********
"They found (and surreptitiously photographed with mobile phone
cameras) half a dozen or more bullet injuries on the top of
17-year-old Sajid's skull. It is evident that he was held down and
shot many times into his head. This could not be the "encounter
killing" of a beleaguered police force defending itself against
dreaded terrorist fire. It is deliberate, cold-blooded killing.
Eye-witnesses say that Atiq's body had many marks of injury apart from
bullets, including the peeling off skin from near his waist."
Date:19/10/2008 URL:
http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mag/2008/10/19/stories/2008101950100300.htm
________________________________
Barefoot
The real travesty
HARSH MANDER
Calling for a judicial enquiry into the Batla House encounter is a not
a travesty. Denying the need for one isŠ
The boys have been killed, and then charged post-facto of heinous
terrorist outrages. They have no way now of defending their names or
their lives.
*************
Post-mortem reports of Sharma, obtained by the news channel Headlines
Today, contradict the claim of a straightforward "encounter" in which
bullets were pumped into his chest and abdomen by Atif Ameen/Nissar as
soon as he entered their apartment.
Guilty until proven innocent
PRAFUL BIDWAI
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20081024252109600.htm
India's counter-terrorism strategy, which has become deeply
communalised and duplicitous, will only strengthen terrorism's sources
and roots.
EVEN before Delhi witnessed the September 13 bomb blasts, on top of
terrorist attacks targeting innocent civilians in Varanasi, Jaipur,
Bangalore and Ahmedabad, it could be predicted that the government
would respond to any fresh explosions by adopting a macho stance
relying on excessive force.
*************
Preliminary Statement of the fact-finding team that visited Jamia
Nagar, the place of the alleged 'encounter' of the police
A team of teachers, students, civil rights activists and intellectuals
visited the site of the alleged encounter of the police with the
'terrorists' as claimed by them, on the 24th September 2008. The team
comprised of Prof. Siddique Hassan, Deputy Amir Jamat-e-Islami Hind,
SAR Geelani, Reader, Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, Dr.
Waqar Anwar, Jamat-e-Islami Hind, Dr. SQR Ilyas, Editor,
Afkar-e-Milli, Suvojit Bagchi, Journalist, Anil Chamaria, Journalist,
Dr. Karen Gabriel, Reader, St. Stephens, DU, Rona Wilson, Secretary
(Public Relations), Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners,
Mahtab Alam, Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Banojyotsna
Lahiri (JNU), Vanessa Chisti (JNU) and Sumati Panikkar (Independent
Researcher)
(This report is available with us, and can be sent to you if requested. SANSAD)
*****************
Report on The Jamia 'Encounter'
by Jan Hastakshep, Campaign against Fascist Designs and PUDR
26 September 2008
Released to the Press on 26 September, 2008 at a Press Conference in New Delhi
A fact finding team constituted by Janhastakshep, Campaign against
Fascist Designs and People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) went
to look into the issues being raised in context to alleged an
encounter at Batla House, Jamia Nagar on September 19, 2008. Members
of the team were, Dr. N.K. Bhattacharya retd. Principal of a Delhi
University College, Shahana Bhattacharya of Delhi University, Dr. Ish
Misra, Delhi University, Prashant Bhusan, Advocate Supreme Court, Mr.
N. D. Pancholi, Advocate, Delhi High Court, and Ms. Shreerekha, a
teacher in Jamia Milia Islamia. The team was accompanied by Prof. Mir
Imtiaz of Jamia Milia Islamia.
Some of the findings of the Fact finding exercise undertaken on
September 21, 2008:
(This reort too is available with us and can be sent to you if you
requested. SANSAD)
Jamia residents foiled "encounter" attempt
16 October 2008
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
http://www.twocircles.net/2008oct16/jamia_residents_foiled_encounter_attempt.html
New Delhi: The residents of Jamia Nagar today foiled a
kidnapping/encounter attempt by some policemen in plainclothes in
Shaheen Bagh area under the Jamia Nagar Police Station in Delhi.
It was around 8 in the night when a black Hyundai car with tinted
glasses but with no number plates entered Shaheen Bagh. Five persons,
may be ATS sleuths in plainclothes, came out and tried to drag a youth
named Amir into the car. He resisted and asked them why they were
dragging him. They said they will tell him soon.
As the Jamia Nagar encounter and subsequent indiscriminate picking of
locals were fresh in people's mind, locals began gathering. The
plainclothes people threatened them but as mob got thicker, some of
them slipped away. The locals, however, were able to catch one who
later turned out to be an ASI of Noida Police. The public brought both
the policeman and Amir to Jamia Nagar police station.
Hundreds of people gathered around the police station and demanded
action against the 'kidnapppers'. They alleged that their plan was to
encounter the person and later declare him a terrorist.
People say Amir was with his friend Irfan on a motorcycle. Amir from
Zafarabad area in Delhi had come here to meet someone. They alleged
that his friend Irfan was police informer because those came in car
tried to drag into the car only Amir, not Irfan. Irfan also fled the
scene.
The car had no number plate but a number plate was found in the car
which had DL1T W 1590 written on it. The plate looked new and unused.
The mob also was able to snatch some documents from the Noida
policemen. They include PANCARDS, mobile, SIM. Among other things in
the car two ID with different picture but same name belonging to an IT
company was found in the car. The angry residents damaged the car and
broke window panes. The local police reached the spot and asked the
residents to hand over Amir and the policemen but the people demanded
that they will do it before higher authorities.
Soon ACP (Sarita Vihar) Gurcharan Das reached there and persuaded the
locals to handover the men. After much effort the police could bring
them and the car to the Jamia Nagar Police Station. But hundreds of
locals followed the police and reached the station.
People remained outside the station until 1 am when the police
announced that the FIR from Amir has been registered. This all
proceeding was done in the presence of Aziz Burney, Editor of Sahara
Urdu daily, Md Rahman, Delhi High Court advocate and some local
leaders.
Talking to mediapersons around 1 am, DCP Ajay Choudhry said those who
came in the car were Noida Police personnel. The Delhi Police will
investigate the matter. He said he had contacted Noida SSP and he
assured he is looking into the case and action will be taken against
the guilty officials.
--
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