[Reader-list] Jamia Nagar 'Encounter': Rashomon Redux

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Dear All,

We have spent considerable time discussing the Jamia Nagar  
'encounter' on this list, and we have also paid some attention to the  
way it has been reported in the media. The truth of what exactly  
happened on the morning of the 13th of September is increasingly  
becoming foggy, notwithstanding efforts to dignify spoken and  
'whispered' police handouts with the halo of reportage.

In Akira Kurosawa's film 'Rashomon', different accounts of a murder  
lead to completely different interpretations of truth. It remains one  
of the best (to my mind) cinematic portrayals of the pressure of  
charged circumstances on the fragile substance of veracity. I am  
inclined to believe that thickening of narratives around the Jamia  
Nagar 'encounter' has enough
within it to warrant the need for the making of a new 'Rashomon' set  
in the bylanes of Delhi. Samurais, renegades, dead bodies, missing  
bullets, absent bloodstains, betrayals, confessions, hysterical  
television anchors and slippery witnesses :  and everything  
contradicting everything else, what a superb Rashomon Redux that  
would make !

If there are so many discrepancies in the accounts of the event that  
the Special Cell of the Delhi Police is seeding in the fertile soil  
of headlines and 'breaking news', how can we even begin to swallow  
whole the subsequent attempts at offering us all 'insights' into the  
'minds' of 'bomb makers' and 'bomber-terrorists' that have just begun  
to surface. I am referring of course to this week's cover story on  
India Today. And I am sure there will be more to follow. And I am  
relatively sure that a lot of these 'insights' (especially as they  
unravel) will tell us more about the analysts than about the analysed.

Please see below a non-partisan analysis of the inconsistencies in  
the media reportage of the 'bare facts' of the Jamia Nagar encounter.  
Interestingly, this analysis has been carried out by journalists  
themselves. These are journalists associated with the Delhi Union of  
Journalists. I saw this on the Hoot website (www.thehoot.org)

regards

Shuddha
============================
Some Hard Questions (Forwarded from The Hoot.org)

Although all newspapers and TV channels used the same source, the  
police, they differed in the basic facts reported about the police  
encounter in Jamia Nagar.  THE DELHI UNION OF JOURNALISTS presents a  
critique of media reporting of the Batla House Police Operation.

Posted Saturday, Oct 04 19:00:37, 2008
http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php? 
storyid=3360&mod=1&pg=1&sectionId=1&valid=true

Extracts from the DUJ report

Foreword

  The Delhi Union of Journalists and its Ethics Council are concerned  
at the falling standards of reporting as evident in the manner in  
which the police operation at Batla House on September 19, 2008 was  
reported by various newspapers and TV channels in the Capital.

  We wish to underline that accuracy in reporting facts is the first  
responsibility of the media. Where facts are disputed, the  
discrepancies should be pointed out and the sources questioned.  
Presenting several versions of incidents and using multiple sources  
of information is an inalienable part of credible reporting. We also  
emphasise that uncovering the truth may not always be the job of the  
media. The media is not equipped to investigate and uncover the truth  
in severely complicated cases like the incident being examined in the  
report. But presenting different facets of events as they emerge is  
part of the professional responsibility of the media. In this report  
we have analysed the reporting of the Times of India, The Hindustan  
Times, The Hindu, The Indian Express (Delhi editions of September 20  
and 21, 2008).  Among the Hindi newspapers we have examined Dainik  
Jagaran, Amar Ujala, Dainik Hindustan, Jansatta, Punjab Kesari and  
Rashtriya Sahara; the Urdu newspaper we looked at is Rashtriya Sahara.

  We wish to make it clear that we hold no brief for either the  
police or the suspects, two of whom have been killed and several  
rounded up.  We are not passing a judgment on whether it was a  
planned encounter or a fake encounter or a police operation gone  
wrong. We do not know the truth. We are only examining the  
professional conduct of our co-professionals with a view to pointing  
out the casual manner in which serious issues have been handled right  
from the day of the serial bomb blasts in Delhi.

  A research team of the DUJ decided to examine the way in which the  
print media reported the police operation on September 19, 2008, at  
L-18, Batla House, Jamia Nagar in Delhi in which two alleged  
terrorists and one inspector of the Special Cell of the Delhi Police  
were killed. We have attempted in this report to first state the  
facts as they were reported and then analyse the language employed  
and the views expressed while reporting and commenting on this highly  
sensitive and contentious incident.

  Analysis of Newspaper Reports dated September 20, 2008

The facts first.

1. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of the Special Cell of the Delhi  
Police killed.
2. Two young boys, Atif Amin and Mohammed Sajid, killed.
3. Mohammed Saif arrested.

The rest of the facts regarding the police operation at L-18, Batla  
House, Jamia Nagar, Delhi on Sept. 19, 2008 are uncertain. Although  
the incident took place in the capital of India and all the  
newspapers and TV channels used the same source, the Police, even the  
basic facts are not in place. Every daily newspaper and television  
channel seems to have its own set of 'facts' and often these  
contradict each other. Accuracy seems to have been sacrificed in the  
rush to be first with the news and provide the more sensational  
coverage. Let us examine how the incident was reported in the Delhi  
editions of the dailies.

The Time of the Shootout:

The Hindustan Times and Dainik Jagran have given the time as 11 a.m.  
The Indian Express, quoting a resident, says the first shot was fired  
around 9.45 a.m. The Times of India report does not mention any time.  
Mail Today says it began at 11a.m. The Hindi Hindustan report would  
have us believe that it all began at 10.30 a.m. Amar Ujala says  
firing began around 10.45 a.m. and lasted till 11 a.m.


The Duration of the Shootout:

The Hindustan Times says the shootout lasted 15 minutes whereas its  
Hindi publication, Dainik Hindustan,  says it lasted 90 minutes.  
According to the TOI, the entire encounter took 25 minutes. Mail  
Today says the operation lasted 30 minutes. The Veer Arjun says the  
shootout lasted between 30 and 45 minutes. Rashtriya Sahara, Urdu,  
claims that the shooting lasted nearly two hours. Amar Ujala says the  
encounter lasted  1 hour and 15 minutes. Punjab Kesari claims that   
the encounter lasted one hour.

Rounds fired:

According to the TOI, 25 rounds were fired by the police and 8 by the  
'terrorists'. The Indian Express, the Hindu, Dainik Hindustan, Punjab  
Kesari and Rashtriya Sahara, Urdu say the police fired 22 rounds.  
They are all silent about the rounds fired by the suspects. Rashtriya  
Sahara, Hindi and Amar Ujala say the police fired 22 rounds and the  
'terrorists' fired 8 rounds.

Interestingly, the Navbharat Times claims that both the police and  
the suspects were armed with AK 47s but did not use them!

'Explosive' stuff:

  All the dailies reported the police claim that those shot at Batla  
House were terrorists responsible for several bomb blasts.

The HT quoted Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal as saying that  
"explosives made by him (Atif – our clarification) and his team bore  
their signature – two detonators, wooden frame, ammonium nitrate and  
analog quartz clocks."

In the light of this claim, the list of explosives claimed to have  
been recovered from the flat occupied by the suspects is interesting.

Dainik Hindustan says one AK 47, two pistols, one computer and  
important papers were recovered.

Veer Arjun reports one AK 47, .30 bore pistols, cartridges and 21  
country pistols were found.

Navbharat Times says one AK 47, two .30 imported pistols, 20 live  
cartridges, magazine, two laptops, mobile phones and other items were  
recovered.

Rashtriya Sahara, Hindi says police recovered one AK 47 and two .32  
bore pistols, one computer and books.

Punjab Kesari says police found one AK 47, two pistols  and one  
computer.

Amar Ujala says the police  seized one AK 47, .30 bore revolver, two  
laptops, half a dozen mobiles and six pen drives.

None of the dailies report the recovery of any ammonium nitrate and  
analog quartz clocks. No question is asked about the recovery of  
these chemicals or equipment claimed to be part of the terrorist  
group's signature.

How many Policemen were there?

Indian Express reports that Sharma went there along with five officers.

Mail Today reports a 15-member team led by Sharma

Veer Arjun claims 50 personnel led by Sharma landed there.

NBT says a total number of 24 police personnel went there.

Amar Ujala reports that a 22-member police team cordoned off the area  
under the leadership of Sharma.

The TOI, HT, Jansatta, Dainik Jagran and The Hindu refrain from  
mentioning the number of policemen involved in the operation.

How many Bullets hit Sharma?

The TOI, IE, HT, Mail Today, The Hindu, Veer Arjun, Rashtriya Sahara,  
Hindi all say three bullets hit Sharma.

Navbharat Times says four bullets hit him.

Jansatta claims that five bullets hit him in the abdomen, thigh, left  
arm, upper part of the shoulder and right hip (Anchor story).

Rashtriya Sahara, Urdu reports four bullets hitting him, one each on  
shoulder, arm, back and right hip.

Rashtriya Sahara, Hindi claims that all the three bullets were taken  
out during an operation in Holy Family hospital

Amar Ujala also claims that bullets had been removed and quotes Dr.  
Rajesh Chawla to this effect. It says Dr Chawla was summoned from  
Apollo hospital. He reportedly told the paper that there was  
excessive bleeding because the bullets hit the lung and the lower  
part and after 'bullets had been removed',  it was felt that Sharma  
may survive.

Subsequently post-mortem reports quoted by some of the dailies said  
that Sharma had been hit by only two bullets and both bullets had  
exited the body. No bullets were removed from his body.

About Mohan Chand Sharma

Even in paying tributes to Inspector Sharma the papers have reported  
different facts.  HT says that he had "shot dead 75 criminals and  
terrorists." The TOI says he was "credited with the killing of 35  
terrorists and the arrest of 80 others." The IE says that "Sharma's  
'kill tally' stood at 75 criminals including 35 terrorists". The  
Hindu says he was instrumental in "neutralising 35 terrorists and  
arresting as many as 80 militants." It goes on to say he had 'gunned  
down 40 gangsters' and arrested '120' criminals. Amar Ujala reports  
that Sharma killed 35 terrorists and 40 gangsters, nabbed 80  
terrorists and 129 gangsters. It says he was involved in 75 encounters.

Contact : DELHI UNION OF JOURNALISTS
Office: FLAT NO.-29, New Central Market, Connaught Circus, New Delhi-1
  E-mail:, pande.duj at gmail.com  Tel: 23413459