[Reader-list] FW: FOURTH ESTATE CRITIQUE Fwd: Some Questions About The Delhi Encounter

[Aditya Raj Kaul]

Yousuf bhai,

I suggest you volunteer to join the Special Cell of the Delhi Police as an
encounter advisor. It would certainly help you answer all your questions.

Its easy to scream here that 'why' this wasn't done,  'what' went wrong
there, and 'who' was responsible for this. Try and think from the
perspective of the Police as well.

They just had some leads about this place; and had planned a secret raid.
God knows how you say that the entire world knew about it. Of course very
senior print and electronic crime reporters keep a track of things; and some
of them are given information whenever possible by their sources in the
Police. I don't think there is anything so secretive or unusual in this.

Just because this encounter took place in Batla House, Jamia Nagar a densely
Muslim dominated area; we shouldn't and have no right to caste doubts on our
brave soldiers of the Delhi Police and especially its "Special cell; which
successfully led this operation. Lets accept the fact that; major Terror
related incidents are unfortunately conducted, operated, planned, and
executed by Muslims. Here, don't think that I'm targetting a particular
community. Its plain truth.

My head goes high, when I think of our brave Inspector M.C. Sharma. I had
heard of him before as well by chance. His technique of investigation and
purity of professionalism were extraordinary. I salute this symbol of PEACE
who could eliminate those who killed innocents in the recent bombings.

Its so disheartening to see a few "Encounter Specialists" on this Sarai
Reader's List who are trying their best to target the Police and the state
for this encounter; with lame arguments. Its funny but at the same time very
unfortunate. 'Think' for a change guys.

I travel to Jamia almost daily for past year or so because of my good
friendship base in the University. Even these days after and before the
bombings I've gone their and interacted with people. The people in the
locality and neighbouring areas are as free, secure and as normal as any
other person living in any other locality of Delhi. But, its tragic that
places like Jamia Nagar, Zakir Nagar, Okhla, Shaheen Bagh, Seelampur etc.
are on and off used as base of a larger terror networks in the country. Its
time the local population in these areas formulates a plan along with Police
and administration to nab these anti-national and anti-state elements and
also the locals should come out openly against Islamic Terrorism.

It isn't easy to raid such a populated and crowded area as Jamia Nagar.
Police has to take care that there are no civilian casualties. So, even a
ordinary person can understand that what the Police did on this particular
day was the best possible methodology used. Till the time they would have
tried to block the area and rounded up, the terrorists might have escaped.
I'm happy that there was no major blood-shed and it ended up well. Though
I'm sad about the great loss we all in India faced.

A meritorious officer of the Delhi Police knows how to tackle things during
an encounter better then a writer or a painter. The entire encounter wasn't
planned in anyway. It happened just because, the terrorists fired upon the
Police force; who were in plain clothes. Hope this makes things clear. Also,
he was brave and was martyred fighting terrorists. Do you understand that ?
It wasn't easy as you may want to believe sitting on a comfortable chair
while thundering your fingers on the keyboard.

Hope all your questions, rather allegations are answered.

May the departed soul rest in Peace.

Aum Shaanti Shaanti, Shaanti !

Aditya Raj Kaul

On 9/21/08, Yousuf <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Aarti
> Here are a few points to add (from someone who lives there):
>
> Media started coming in only around 11:20 or so when appearantly Inspector
> Sharma was already injured and taken away. No TV crew saw him being taken,
> but someone took a still photo with a mobile which has appeared in today's
> Hindustan Times, where you can see that he may have come down the four
> floors not on a stretcher.
>
> A reporter on "Times NOW" channel reported at around 11:30 am that day (you
> can see the video on TOI site) that "he was in touch with the investigating
> officer in the morning who told (the reporter) that they are going for a
> raid in Zakir Nagar, and that's how Times NOW was the first crew to arrive
> here." Now one cannot understand how can you have a secret raid looking for
> terrorists, and inform the whole world about it.
>
> Another important point: Inspector Sharma is an encounter specialist who
> according to TOI: "during his meritorious service, Sharma was instrumental
> in the killing of 35 terrorists and the arrest of another 80 militants. He
> had killed at least 40 inter-state gangsters and arrested another 129". He
> has also won over a hundred gallantry medals.
>
> My mind boggles to think, how can such a meritorious officer walk into a
> flat (assuming there were terrorists in it) not wearing a bullet proof vest,
> and get fatally shot so easily. This is just unbelievable, considering his
> background.
>
> Many locals are saying that even if there were terrorists with guns inside
> - why couldn't the police block the area (which they did ultimately), take
> the local people into confidence, empty the rest of the building and
> neighborhood, and get the folks to surrender. After all it was a fourth
> floor and very easy to ambush without any bloodshed.
>
> I wonder if these questions will be answered by anyone.
>
> Yousuf
>
>
>
> --- On Sun, 9/21/08, Aarti Sethi <aarti.sethi at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > From: Aarti Sethi <aarti.sethi at gmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] FW: FOURTH ESTATE CRITIQUE Fwd: Some Questions
> About The Delhi Encounter
> > To: "sabitha t p" <sabitha_tp at yahoo.co.uk>
> > Cc: "sarai readerlist" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> > Date: Sunday, September 21, 2008, 3:39 PM
> > Thank you for posting this Sabitha.
> >
> > I have some more questions to add:
> >
> > :From all reports and accounts it appears that the media
> > was tipped off well
> > in advance of this operation. So much so that cables were
> > laid on the ground
> > to ensure clear transmission. How is it that the
> > "dreaded terrorists" holed
> > up in this flat did not get tipped off by this operation in
> > the vicinity and
> > flee then, and indeed waited to leave till after the
> > operation had begun? It
> > seems very strange that they would wait in this flat, while
> > the media
> > gathered, the police arrived, and then run from a house in
> > which there is
> > only one stair which had been taken over by the police.
> >
> > : A report in the Indian Express quotes JC Singh as saying
> > that, "Inspector
> > Sharma had the input but not the specifically of the right
> > address - there
> > was some confusion about the house in which the militants
> > were holed up."
> > Which means that the media was called and arrived in Jamia
> > Nagar while the
> > police wandered about looking for the right house? And
> > again the
> > "terrorists" waited while this was going on, 10
> > OB vans in the vicnity did
> > not tip them off?
> >
> > : The Indian Express also carries an article which quotes
> > an unnamed police
> > source describing the incident as "a suprise attack by
> > the militants." To
> > thwart such surprise attacks the police have been askedto
> > carry their
> > weapons with them at all times. How is an incident planned
> > by the police, to
> > which the media has been invited beforehand, a
> > "surprise attack"?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 1:47 PM, sabitha t p
> > <sabitha_tp at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> > > --- On Sun, 21/9/08, satchidanandan k
> > <satchida at hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > From: bobby.kunhu at gmail.com
> > > To: fourth-estate-critique at googlegroups.com;
> > > grassroots-in-action at googlegroups.com
> > > Subject: FOURTH ESTATE CRITIQUE Fwd: Some Questions
> > About The Delhi
> > > Encounter
> > >
> > > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > > From: Ajay <ajaydalit at gmail.com>
> > > Date: 2008/9/21
> > > Subject: Some Questions About The Delhi Encounter
> > >
> > > Some Questions About The Delhi Encounter
> > > By Shabnam Hashmi, Satya Sivaraman, Manisha Sethi,
> > Tanweer Fazal, Arshad
> > > Alam & Pallavi Deka
> > > 21 September, 2008
> > > Countercurrents.org
> > >
> > > A team comprising activists, academicians and
> > journalists visited the site
> > > of the police operation against alleged terrorists
> > staying in an apartment
> > > in Jamia Nagar in the afternoon of 20.09.2008
> > (Saturday). Two alleged
> > > terrorists Atif and Sajid, along with Mohan Chand
> > Sharma, an inspector of
> > > the Delhi Police's Special Cell died in the
> > operation while a third alleged
> > > terrorist was arrested.
> > >
> > > On the basis of our interactions with the local
> > residents, eye witnesses
> > > and the reports which have appeared in the media, we
> > would like to pose the
> > > following questions:
> > >
> > > 1) It has been widely reported (and not refuted by the
> > Police) that in
> > > early August this year Atif, who is described by the
> > Delhi Police as the
> > > mastermind behind the recent terrorist bombings in
> > Jaipur, Ahmedabad and
> > > Delhi, underwent a police verification exercise along
> > with his four
> > > roommates in order to rent the apartment they were
> > staying in Jamia Nagar.
> > > All the five youth living in the apartment submitted
> > to the Delhi police
> > > their personal details, including permanent address,
> > driving license
> > > details, address of the house they previously stayed
> > in, all of which were
> > > found to be accurate.
> > > Is it conceivable that the alleged kingpin behind the
> > terrorist Indian
> > > Mujahideen outfit would have wanted to undergo a
> > police verification- for
> > > whatever purpose- just a week after the Ahmedabad
> > blasts and a month before
> > > the bombings in Delhi?
> > >
> > > 2) The four-storeyed house L-18 in Jamia Nagar, where
> > the alleged
> > > terrorists were staying, has only one access point,
> > through the stair case,
> > > which is covered by an iron grill. It is impossible to
> > leave the house
> > > except from the staircase. By all reports, the
> > staircase was taken over by
> > > the Special Cell and/ or other agencies during the
> > counter-terror operation.
> > > The house, indeed the entire block, was cordoned off
> > at the time of the
> > > operation.
> > > How then was it then possible, as claimed by the
> > police, for two alleged
> > > terrorists to escape the premises during the police
> > operation?
> > >
> > > 3) The media has quoted 'police sources' as
> > having informed them that the
> > > Special Cell was fully aware about the presence of
> > dreaded terrorists,
> > > involved in the bombings in Jaipur, Ahmedabad and
> > Delhi, staying in the
> > > apartment that was raided.
> > > Why was the late Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, a
> > veteran of dozens of
> > > encounter operations, the only officer in the
> > operation not wearing a bullet
> > > proof vest? Was this due to over-confidence or is
> > there something else to
> > > his mysterious death during the operation? Will the
> > forensic report of the
> > > bullets that killed Inspector Sharma be made public?
> > >
> > > 4) There are reports that towards the end of the
> > counter-terror operation,
> > > some policemen climbed on the roof of L-18 and fired
> > several rounds in the
> > > air. Other policemen were seen breaking windows and
> > even throwing flower
> > > pots to the ground from flats adjacent or opposite to
> > L-18
> > > Why was the police firing in the air and why did it
> > indulge in destruction
> > > of property around L-18 after the encounter?
> > >
> > > 5) The police officials claim that an AK-47 and
> > pistols were recovered from
> > > L-18.
> > > What was the weapon that killed Inspector Sharma? Was
> > the AK-47 used at all
> > > and by whom? Going by some reports that have appeared
> > (see 'Times of India',
> > > 20.09.08), the AK-47s have been used by the police
> > only. Is it not strange
> > > that alleged terrorists did not use a more deadly and
> > sophisticated weapon
> > > like the AK-47, which they purportedly possessed,
> > preferring to use pistols?
> > >
> > > We feel that there are far too many loose ends in the
> > current story of the
> > > police encounter at L-18 in Jamia Nagar. We demand
> > that a fair, impartial
> > > and independent probe into the incident be initiated
> > at the earliest to
> > > answer the above questions as also any other ones that
> > arise from the
> > > contradictions of the case.
> > > Signed/- Shabnam Hashmi, Satya Sivaraman, Manisha
> > Sethi, Tanweer Fazal,
> > > Arshad Alam, Pallavi Deka
> > >
> > >
> > >      Download prohibited? No problem. CHAT from any
> > browser, without
> > > download. Go to http://in.webmessenger.yahoo.com/
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