> > August 4, 2010 Complicated encounters *Ajit Kumar Doval * > Posted: Wed Aug 04 2010, 02:42 hrs > Beware of half truths — because you may be holding the wrong half. After > having seen and read so much about the Sohrabuddin episode in the last five > years, one might believe one knows it all. Sohrabuddin is now cast as an > innocent victim of police excess. > > However, it would be worthwhile to explore the real facts about > Sohrabuddin, the nature of police encounters, and the real issues at stake. > Sohrabuddin was an underworld gangster who was involved in nearly two dozen > serious criminal offences in states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh > and Maharashtra. He maintained transnational links with anti-India forces > from the early ‘90s onwards, until his death in 2005. Working with mafia > dons like Dawood Ibrahim and Abdul Latif, he procured weapons and explosives > from Pakistan and supplied them to various terrorist and anti-national > groups (had it not been for his activity, at least some terrorist acts could > have been averted). Sohrabuddin was solidly entrenched in the criminal world > for a decade-and-a-half. Around the time he was killed, the Rajasthan > government had announced a reward on his head. In 1999, he had been detained > under the National Security Act by the Madhya Pradesh government. > > In a 1994 case investigated by the Ahmedabad crime branch, he was > co-accused along with Dawood Ibrahim and convicted for five years, for > waging war against the Government of India, planning an attack on the > Jagannath rath yatra in Orissa, and other offences under the IPC, Arms Act, > etc. During the investigation, 24 AK-56 rifles, 27 hand grenades, 5250 > cartridges, 81 magazines and more were seized from his family home in Madhya > Pradesh. In 2004, a fourth crime was registered against him by Chandgad > police station of Kolhapur district in Maharashtra under sections 302, 120 > (b), and 25 (1) (3) of the Arms Act, for the killing of Gopal Tukaram > Badivadekar. As fear of him often silenced people from reporting his > whereabouts, let alone deposing against him, the Rajasthan government had to > announce a reward on his head after he killed Hamid Lata in broad daylight > in the heart of Udaipur, on December 31, 2004. So much for Sohrabuddin's > innocence. > > However, irrespective of who Sohrabuddin was and what he did, the use of > unaccountable force against him is indefensible is the public view of many > (often at variance with their private view). There are many who feel that > there is a higher rationale for such actions in compelling circumstances, as > the law of the land has repeatedly found itself helpless in dealing with > individuals bent on bleeding the country. Their argument, that the rule of > law is a means to an end and not an end in itself, often finds support in > the jurisprudential principles of salus populi est suprema lex (the people's > welfare is the supreme law) and salus res publica est suprema lex (the > safety of the nation is supreme law). Even the Supreme Court of India, in > the case of D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal [1997 (1) SCC 416] accepted > the validity of these two principles and characterised them as "not only > important and relevant, but lying at the heart of the doctrine that welfare > of an individual must yield to that of the community." The validity of the > principles of salus populi est suprema lex and salus res publica est suprema > lex could have been part of an enlightened national discourse, and what > could be the governing instrumentalities, empowerments, legal checks and > stringent processes if these principles were to be invoked. It is better to > accept reality as it is and then strive to change it for the better, rather > than what we wish it to be. Feigned ignorance is the worst type of > hypocrisy. > > But there is another vital question that needs to be addressed. While > pursuing the Sohrabuddin case, was the government really serious about > stopping the menace of fake encounters, or was it pursuing a different > agenda? Encounters have been taking place all over the country under all > regimes, at times degenerating into what are called fake encounters. Between > 2000 and 2007 there have been 712 cases of police encounters in the country > with UP topping the list at 324, and Gujarat figuring almost at the bottom > with 17. > > In some of the cases there was not much on record, even to establish the > criminal past of those killed. Settling political scores through security > and investigative agencies like the CBI is not only bad politics, but also > destructive for the nation's security. To convey the impression (explicitly > or implicitly) that Sohrabuddin was targeted for belonging to a particular > community, thereby creating a sense of insecurity in a section of society, > is detrimental to national interests. It is little known that a large number > of Sohrabuddin's victims were Muslims while a good number of his closest > associates (including Tulsiram Prajapati, who was also killed in a similar > encounter), were Hindu. William Blake could not have been more right when he > said that "a truth that is pursued with bad intent beats all the lies you > can invent". > > The other negative impact of the Sohrabuddin case is the impression it is > creating that all encounters in which police and security forces are > involved, are fake. Society needs to be reassured that the majority of > encounters are genuine and mostly in response to murderous attacks on > security personnel. The fact that, on average, over 1,200 policemen get > killed every year grappling with terrorists, insurgents, underworld mafia > and other anti-social elements, bears ample testimony to this fact. Playing > up a few aberrations and blowing them out of proportion and presenting them > as the only truth is not in the national interest. > > The other downside of the publicity around such cases is that it erodes the > people's trust in governance. Administrations begin to be seen as > instruments of repression and self-aggrandisement and politicians as > perceived as manipulating their power for political and personal gains. This > erosion can lead to a dangerous delegitimisation of the polity. Democratic > politics is an exercise in regime-legitimisation, and to lose the confidence > of the governed would set the government on a self-destructive path. > > The writer is former director of the Intelligence Bureau > > *Source*<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/desperate-congresss-votebank-politicssame-way-its-trying-to-protect-afzal-guru/655825/> > : > > http://www.indianexpress.com/news/desperate-congresss-votebank-politicssame-way-its-trying-to-protect-afzal-guru/655825/ >
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