[Reader-list] JTSA lists some more 'genuine' encounters in Delhi for the Home Minister

[Javed]

JTSA lists some more 'genuine' encounters in Delhi for the Home Minister

Mr. Chidambram,

You say there shall be no re-visit of the Batla House encounter. You
are of course absolutely right. All those agencies who conducted the
encounter have already given themselves a clean chit. What further
proof could be required of the genuineness of the encounter than the
fact that no less than Karnail Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police,
Special Cell, Delhi, (who by the by, was also trying to derail the
probe into Ishrat Jahan encounter) wrote to the Lt Governor and the
NHRC vouching for the innocence of their gallant heroes. Speaking of
gallant heroes, we are sure it has been brought to your notice—or
maybe it hasn’t—that some of the brave hearts of the Delhi Police
Special Cell have been indicted by the courts in the past couple of
years for scripting and executing fake encounters. These are the very
men whom you have been felicitating with gallantry awards and
Presidents’ medals. But Sir, rest assured, we are not asking what sort
of democracies fete and glorify killers. Our kind, of course.

Below we list some of our favourite ‘genuine encounters’—in case you
need more ammunition (oops, pardon the pun) for your shadowboxing with
Mr. Digvijay Singh.

- Connaught Place encounter (1997): Two businessmen were gunned down
by the Special Cell, led by S.S. Rathi. Rathi and his band of 9 men
were found to be guilty by the lower court. They appealed, were found
guilty again by High Court. They appealed yet again. The Supreme Court
upheld their conviction in 2011.

- Dhaula Kuan encounter (2005): Ravinder Tyagi of Special Branch—now a
leading light of the Special Cell—claimed to have apprehended four
men, all Kashmiris and allegedly members of a terrorist group, after a
fierce gun battle. In 2010, the sessions court ruled that the
encounter had been scripted sitting in the police station. The court
ordered filing of an FIR and a departmental enquiry against Tyagi and
Co. The police of course filed an appeal.

- Uttam Nagar encounter (2005): the Special Cell congratulated itself
for averting an attack on the Indian Military by arresting four
Lashkar operatives in a daring encounter. All the arrested men were
released by the court in 2010 after examination of the
misrepresentation and fabrications by the Special cell. The court was
clear that the men had been set up.

- Sonia Vihar Encounter (2006): Heroes of the Special Cell and Crime
Branch—led by Sanjiv Yadav, Addl Deputy Commissioner of Police—battled
a dreaded gang from UP in May 2006 near Kahjuri Khas, Northeast Delhi.
Years later it has been confirmed that they were picked up from their
homes in Meerut and executed in cold blood.

Please note that we are not mentioning the Ansal Plaza encounter whose
veracity has been questioned by an eye witness, Dr Hari Krishna. After
years of battling police intimidation, Dr. Hari Krishna has been
successful in getting the court to start recording his evidence. This
encounter may yet prove to be ‘genuine’ as well. Neither are we
quibbling about the string of frame ups of innocents and extortion
that Special Cell officers have been implicated in. You will also not
find us pointing to the fact that a number of Special cell veterans of
fake encounters and frame ups were part of the team that raided the
Batla House flat on 19th September. We are certain that it’s only a
minor coincidence.

Most sincerely,
Manisha Sethi, Ahmed Sohaib, Adeel Mehdi, Sanghamitra Misra, Tanweer
Fazal, Azra Razak, Anwar Alam, Farah Farooqi, Arshad Alam, Ghazi
Shahnawaz, Ambarien Al qadar, MS Bhatt and others for JTSA
Released by Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association (13th January 2011)


http://twocircles.net/2012jan13/jtsa_lists_some_more_genuine_encounters_delhi_home_minister.html