ISHRAT JAHAN :: Fake or Political Encounter

"After all these terrorists never had Courts sanction to kill people. Do Kasab & Party come India with Courts mandate to kill people? Does Army take courts permission before opening firing at foes? Are not innocent people killed point blank by these terrorist?”

All the media main & as well as social media, is abuzz with Ishrat Jahan case. Some calling it fake encounter, some calling it political conspiracy to frame Modi, CM Gujrat, & his close, confident assistant Amit Shah, present election in-charge Utter Pradesh while some terming it as a setback to fight terrorism in India. Say any thing but situation is very complicated. 

As everyone know Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year old Muslim girl from Mumbai  was killed on 15 June 2004, along  three people with alleged links to terrorists on an empty road stretch between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Gujarat state, by officers of the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch. Those killed were Ishrat Jahan Raza, a 19-year old girl from Mumbai, and three men: Pranesh Pillai (alias Javed Gulam Sheikh), Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar. After a long investigation, in 2009, an Ahmedabad Metropolitan court ruled that the encounter was staged. The decision was challenged by the Gujarat State government, and taken to the High Court. On 3 July, 2013, the CBI has filed its first charge sheet in an Ahmadabad court saying that the shooting was a staged encounter carried out in cold blood. 

What so ever be the case, whether this group was a terrorist group or they were on Akshar Dham pilgrimage in Gujrat, the question is whether this encounter was fake or genuine legally, if you see as simple citizen.

But India is very complex country. Here everything has a motive or say "Motive" tag is always attached with every action & its reaction. So is with this case too. Modi/BJP baiters saw it as an opportunity to push Modi/BJP on wall to counter their growing influence on Indian Masses as for as 2014 election is concerned. As always Congress+Allies got an opportunity to beat Modi+BJP with their "Secular" stick. As of now, Modi is persueing his "Development Agenda", Congress+Allies have no match or answer for his "Development Agenda", rather they never had any answer of this agenda. So they found it a great weapon to fight with. With their back to wall, Modi+BJP supporters labeled this encounter as "Encounter of Terrorists", another popular slogan in India.

I found great value when people are concerned with fake encounters by police, but at the same times dismayed when people react to fake encounters selectively according to their convinces as they are doing in this case.

My friend Prayag Gandi @prayag(twitter account) informed me that :

"According to NHRC India, There had been 440 encounters between 2002-2007. Out of which 4 were in Gujrat, 231 in UP, 33 in Rajasthan, 31 in Maharastra, 26 in Delhi, 22 in AP & 19 in Uttarakhand."

Now if that is true, it must be true as far as Wikipedia is concerned, it is matter of great concern. But No. It is not matter because encounters do happen & will continue to happen till miscreants are. So there should be no worry over encounter till they are done during course of exchange and are not fake. Right? No not right. Sometimes staged managed encounters have proved boon to country. Take case of Punjab during insurgency. 1991 saw the peak of violence in Punjab, with more than 5000 reported killed. In 1992, the Indian government, "Intent on retaking Punjab from terrorism", appointed KPS Gill Chief of Police in Punjab. The police and army instituted a crackdown, and in 1993 the reported death toll was less than 500. In 1993, The New York Times reported, the people of Punjab no longer feared the Sikh "rebels or gangs". Well done KPS. You save not only Punjab but whole India who bows before you. 

Though Human Right Wings made lots of hue & cry over this police action but Government of India & Punjab backed KPS actions fully with blessing of opposition parties & did not give a damn to Human right over this issue. Why they should? After all these terrorists never had Courts sanction to kill people. Do Kasab & Party come India with Courts mandate to kill people? Does Army take courts permission before opening firing at foes? Are not innocent people are killed point blank by these terrorist? I am not telling to let Courts & Law go in hell. But in extreme cases where it is very hard to prove a man/group guilty, there is no harm killing them. Had Mumbia Police not decided to go for encounters in 90s, the mafia group might have been ruling not only Mumbai but large part of India. Mind it friends, nearly all encounters are done by blessings of higher ups & Political Bosses just as case of Punjab & Maharashtra. Though no doubt some encounter were/are done for personal benefits by some lower ranked Police officers too. In these cases Police officials are tried and awarded sentences too. 

Now come to Isharat Jahan case. Who knows it is fake encounter or genuine encounter unless court decides. But it is setting a very wrong precedent. How? Those, who have "Secular" sticks, have branded it Hindu vs Muslim. They say Modi personally ordered their encounter because Modi is against Muslim (God knows how they reached to this conclusion). They went up to extend calling Ishrat Jahan as “Innocent, Beti, Bahan” what not..what not. But how you can blame them who addressed known terrorists with Ji, Sahab etc respectful manner? Their play is not to honor Ishrat Jahan but to put a wedge between Modi & Muslim in respect to coming general election. Modi lovers are worried about fall out of this propaganda. However I am not worried because law of the land is to be up held. If this is fake encounter, Court will decide about it & seeing slow place of justice, in high profile cases atleast, it may take another 20 years to decide about it. Moreover Indian citizen is not much concern who killed whom. If right air is given to this case at right time, it may generate sympathy to Modi+BJP. And if so called “Secular” parties are successful in dividing Hindu Muslims, loss would be there as “Polarized” Hindu may be decide election in favor of BJP because they are more in number.

But let us prayer that senses are prevailed in both groups and election is fought on real issues.

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Pradeep Shanker

(NGO Reporter)