[Reader-list] Jamia 'encounter'

[Shivam Vij शिवम् विज्]

Atif and Sajid shot with an intent to kill

by Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi
Mail Today, 25 September 2008, mailtoday.in

A FORENSIC expert who examined photos of the bodies of 'terrorists'
Sajid and Atif suggested both were shot from a distance of one to five
metres. They were also shot with an intention to kill. The alleged
terrorists died when a Special Cell team raided their Batla House L-18
flat on Friday. Their bodies were subsequently autopsied at AIIMS. The
photos taken after both bodies were released by the coroners to the
relatives show Atif took two bullets on his chest and Sajid had as
many as three bullets on his right temple, one in the centre of his
head and yet another on top of his right shoulder, shot from above.
This bullet travelled diagonally and pierced the torso, exiting
through the back of the left shoulder.

Importantly, the photos in possession of MAIL TODAY include torso
shots and injuries to the rest of the bodies are not visible — except
for a grazing wound on the leg of one of the bodies. We showed these
photos to Dr K.L. Sharma, former head of the department, forensic
medicine, Delhi Police. After examining them, he concluded that
Sajid's killer was either way taller than him or was at a distinct
height advantage when he fired the bullets. "It is possible that Sajid
was sitting or squatting or trying to get up when the bullets hit
him." "The bullet that pierced the centre of Sajid's head indicates
oblique fire. This is clear from the grazing marks at the bottom of
the bullet's entry point. The bullet travelled diagonally through the
brain, shattering it and exiting at the base of the skull just above
the neck. Sajid died instantly and had severe ear bleeding," Dr Sharma
said.

The bullet wounds on his head were probably caused by a "rifled
weapon", which in simple terms would mean either a pistol or an
assault rifle like AK- 47, he said. "In the absence of
threedimensional photos and autopsy reports, I can't say for sure
which weapon was used to shoot the two." He said had the 'terrorists'
been fired at from point-blank range or if these had been
close-contact firings (distance of three inches), the bullets would
have left telltale signs such as "burning, singing and tattooing. Had
the weapon been in contact with the body when the trigger was pulled,
the bullets would have left burnt hair at the point of contact, or the
singed hair would curl or there would be tiny reddish or pinkish dots
around the point of entry. These tattoo marks would have been
permanent. In this case, none of this is evident, suggesting Sajid was
shot from a distance of more than one metre," Dr Sharma said.

But two other experts said Sajid had been hit only by two bullets, and
not five. Dr S.C. Mittal and Dr B.K. Sharma, after looking at the
photographs, opined that one bullet slid past the top of Sajid's head
while another pierced his right shoulder. The other three "injury
marks" on his forehead did not appear to be bullet injuries, they
added. Dr Mittal and Dr B.K. Sharma also contended that the injuries
on Sajid's body were at "unusual" places, and he was probably fired at
from a distance of more than five metres.

Dr K.L. Sharma said the ammunition used was smokeless. "Probably
bullets packed with nitro-glycerin and nitrocellulose were used," he
said. "But since there are multiple injuries on Sajid and Atif, it is
clear that the firing was homicidal. You would describe this as mens
rea in legal parlance," he added. Mens rea implies intention. Atif had
two wounds on his chest, one on the left and the other on his right.
He was probably standing when shot. Mail Today, Thursday, September
25, 2008 Page 9


THE FINDINGS

1 They were shot either from a pistol or an AK-47

2 Both were shot with an intention to kill

3 They were fired at from a range of 1-5 metres

4 Sajid was shot from an elevated position

5 Sajid was either sitting or squatting when shot

6 Sajid's death was instant. His brain was shattered Delhi bombers


NHRC GUIDELINES

 All encounters should be probed properly and without bias

 Any death caused in an encounter would amount to culpable homicide
unless it is established that the action was taken in self defence

 The probe report has to be submitted to NHRC within six weeks

 Investigation should be independent and cops involved in encounter
should be kept out