Monday, November 21, 2011

Order of Gujarat High Court for a Fresh Complaint of Murder against 21 Gujarat Police officers, in respect of Faked Encounter of Isharat Jahan, made in the name of so-called conspiracy against CM Narendra Modi. The Apex Court has taken a very serious approach in such fake encounters.

In a huge setback to the Gujarat government after the highly debated Soharabuddin and Kausharbeg faked encounter cases, the court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) on Monday concluded in a written investigation report that college girl Ishrat Jahan and her three friends were murdered by the Gujarat state police in a staged shootout and later passed off as militants. The conclusion by the special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2004 killings, as per the order of the Division Bench of Hon. Justice Mr. Jayant Patel and Hon. Justice Abhilashakumari of Gujarat High Court, prompted the Gujarat high court to order a fresh complaint against the accused police officers for the murder under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code that covers the death penalty. The court-appointed SIT, headed by police officer RR Verma, said that Jahan, a 19-year-old girl from Mumbai, Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed earlier than the shootout date of June 15, 2004. They were shot dead on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in a private car. Police claimed that they were linked to the Lashkar-e Taiba terror outfit and were in the city to assassinate Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. A total of 21 policemen, including four Indian Police Service (IPS) officers - then joint commissioner PP Pande, suspended deputy inspector general DG Vanzara, then assistant commissioner GL Singhal and assistant commissioner NK Amin - were involved in the staged shootout. The Division Bench of Hon. Justice Mr. P. Sathasivam and Hon Justice Mr. B.S. Chauhan of the Supreme Court of India has recently taken a very serious approach, while upholding the punishment of life imprisonment of four police officers of Punjab, expressed over police atrocities and fake encounters happened in our country that “tolerance of police atrocities would amount to an acceptance of systemic subversion and erosion of the rule of law, because such the atrocities are not only violation of the constitutional fundamental rights of life and personal liberty, granted under Article 21, but also infringement of right of information of personal arrest about the grounds of his detention and production before the magistrate in time under the provisions of Article 22 of the constitution of India. Police atrocities in India have always been a subject matter of controversy and debate. In view of the provisions of Article 21 of the Constitution, any form of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is inhibited.Any kinds of torture was not permissible “whether it occurs during investigation, interrogation or otherwise. The wrongdoer is accountable and the state is responsible if a person in custody of the police is deprived of his life except in accordance with the procedure established by law. The state must protect victims of torture, ill-treatment as well as the human rights defender fighting for the interest of the victims, giving the issue serious consideration for the reason that victims of torture suffer enormous consequences psychologically.” When the Hon Apex Court has taken a serious approach by fixing the liability of the state in such fake encounters, it is now worth to be noted that certain more other controversially debated police encounters and atrocities, committed by Gujarat Police are now also before our courts, awaiting for judgments in the coming days... We have to simply gauge what will happen of Gujarat State ??!!! Only the concerned courts and the Apex Court along with the time alone can say this......

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