Dear friends:
This despatch concerns the alleged "encounter" death of two Muslim youth in the Jamia Nagar of Delhi on September 19 this year. Much has been written about it in the media. Many investigative reports have been produced.
We send you, first, a note the SANSAD president sent on October 10 to the organizers of a Public Hearing in the Jamia "encounter" episode. This is followed by the Verdict of the People's Hearings.
The Despatch also appends links to the following:
1. A CNN-IBN interview by Karan Thapar of Arundhati Roy. A MUST read.
2. A public statement by Jamia teachers Forum.
3. An article by Hasrh Mander, "The Real Travesty"
4. An article by Prafull Bidwai "Guilty until Proven Innocent"
5. A prelimnary report from a citizens' fact finding team
6. Another Investigative report from Jan Hastakshep and other citizen's organizations.
And finally:
7. A report on another attempted "encounter' in the Jamia Nagar of Delhi which was foiled by local people's timely intervention.
SANSAD
**************
Letter from SANSAD president to the Public Hearings organizers:
Dear Anuradha Ghosh, the Organizers and Participants in the Jan Sunwai being held on Sunday, October 11:
We received only today the announcement of the "Public Hearings" on the Batla House 'Encounter' and congratulate you for this worthy initiative. And as we send this note from Canada on Saturday night, you must already be in the process of starting the people's hearings. Still, we send this quick note of support and solidarity.
Over the last several weeks, we have reviewed a large number of newspaper accounts, independent investigative reports, and statements from people from all walks of life, including from the Vice Chancellor of the Jamia Millia Institute, Prof. Mushirul Hasan. And we have been shocked and agonized over how the calculated cold-blooded murder of innocient students, Arif and Sajid, has been portrayed as "encounter" deaths of "terrorists".
"Encounter deaths" is a distinctive Indian phenomenon. For almost forty years, the "democratic" state of India has been intentionally using it as a euphemism for cold-blooded extra-judicial killng by the police forces. No society with pretentions of respecting a minimum respect for the "rule of law" could allow its police force to be the killers without being accounatabe for its acts. India has done it over decades, starting from the days of "annihilating" suspected Naxalaites in the early seventies in West Bengal, and many other parts of India, without any due judicial process. It reached new heights in the KPS Gill days of Punjab, a police chief who was given the unprecedented carte blance authority to go after his suspected victims anywhere in India, to kill at will. We have seen its ugly manifestations in Narinder Modi's Gujarat over the past few years. The story of Kashmir is incomplete without a reference to how the policc force - and also the para military and miitlary forces - have used arbitrary authority to kill innocent people with full impunity, The practice continues in practically every part of India now. There is also the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) of 1958, still operative in most of North-east India, and Jammu and Kashmir, which gives ordinary soldiers of the Army the power to arrest without warrant and shoot-to-kill, with total impunity.
We sincerely hope that the Tribunal looking into the killings of innocent youth in the Jamia area of New Delhi goes all the way to expose not just what happened there on September 19, but also to question the wide-spread practice of extra-judicial killings by police: here, there and every where in India.
In full solidarity
hari sharma
president, SANSAD
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:14:40 +0545
Verdict of the Jan Sunwai (Public Hearings) Jury
Academics and activists seek Judicial probe into the 19th September encounter by a sitting Supreme Court judge; Demand that investigations be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigations
A Jan Sunwai on the Batla House 'Encounter' was organized by the Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Group outside Khalilullah Masjid in Jamia Nagar on 12th October (Sunday). The following scholars and activists associated with civil rights movement constituted the jury:
Swami Agnivesh, Member, National Integration Council
John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council
Tanika Sarkar, Professor of History, JNU
Tripta Wahi, Rtd. Professor of History, Delhi University
Vijay Singh, Professor of History, Delhi University
Nirmalangshu Mukherji, Professor of Philosophy, Delhi University
Harsh Mandar, Social Activist
The need to hold a Public Hearing in the neighbourhood became imperative to counter the increasing communalization of public discourse in relation to the issue of terrorism and its association with the Muslim community. The on-going targeting of the community by the media and the different institutions of the State as well as political parties has increased the sense of alienation and fear. To overcome this situation and to extend solidarity to the community residing in the Jamia Nagar area particularly by members of the liberal, secular, democratic intelligentsia belonging to different communities created a space of dialogue. This act of solidarity was welcomed by the people who attended in thousands to be part of the deliberations.
After hearing over a dozen testimonies given by local residents, the jury observed the following.
A) The people of Jamia Nagar participated overwhelmingly in the Jan Sunwai. The predominant sentiment among the local residents about the 'encounter' is one of anger and disbelief. This feeling was articulated by the participants and those who gave testimony. Local residents have taken strong exception to the stereotyping of young Muslim educated youth in this area and also in general as terrorists. The links that the media and the state is making between education, especially professional technical education among the Muslim youth and terrorism has fueled fears that it will inhibit the progress and social advancement of the community.
B) It is noted that prior to moving to L-18, the deceased had verifications proofs in place with the local police. Sajid had appeared for his 11th class examination at Jamia School and all address details were genuine. Atif had enrolled in Jamia Millia islamia. Till date, all identification records submitted by them have been found to be true. The verification details for obtaining their mobile connections are also genuine. These proofs establish the credibility of the boys killed in the encounter as students seeking opportunities and a career in the city.
C) The statement by people who bathed the bodies of the dead boys before their burial was striking: they testified that the skin on Atif's back was sloughed off; there was smell in his body; there were multiple bullet injuries on Sajid's head. These cast aspersions on the police version.
D) On the nature of firing, all residents uniformly testified that the firing happened in quick succession punctuated by short intervals for nearly an hour after Inspector Sharma was brought down. People testified that they had seen him coming down with injury - blood was oozing out from the wound. The members of the locality raised questions about the long duration of firing in L-18. The death of Inspector Sharma too is shrouded in mystery.
E) The witnesses also expressed their anguish about the way in which the police kept the community on tenterhooks about the burial of the bodies. The handing over of the bodies was delayed and the entire process was marked by complete lack of sensitivity in relation to the dead. The Jury feels that minimum human sensibilities must be respected regardless of the charges against the dead.
The jury strongly feels that there is ample ground to doubt the veracity of the police version of the sequence of events on 19th September. Following these observations in the jan sunwai, the Jury demands:
A) Judicial probe into the 19th September encounter by a sitting Supreme Court judge
B) The investigations must be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigations.
The jury is of the view that the on-going targeting of the Muslim minority in the country has created an atmosphere of fear and anxiety. The complete disregard and violation of fundamental civil rights in the process of the State's efforts to control 'terrorist' activities has raised questions regarding the secular character of the Indian democracy and the impartiality of its institutions. The widespread sense of alienation among the minorities can only be mitigated by ensuring justice.
Released by the Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Group
****************
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:34:32 +0530
Devil's Advocate: Arundhati on media-police collusion
CNN-IBN
DEVIL IN THE DETAILS: Arundhati warns Dalits, Muslims and Adivasis are feeling marginalised.
Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to Devil's Advocate. Why is Arundhati Roy angry with the police and upset with the press? That's the key issue I shall explore today. Arundhati Roy, let's start with the recent encounter in Jamia Nagar in New Delhi. You've called for an independent judicial enquiry headed by a Supreme Court judge. Why do you involve yourself into this work? What's your locus standi?
Arundhati Roy: Well, I am just one of those thousands of people who are asking some very serious questions of the police. The trouble is that you know, even if you wanted to believe this police version, you don't know which police version to believe. Does one believe the Bombay police, the UP police, the Gujarat police or the Delhi police? All of them have different versions. There's a blizzard of masterminds. The Additional Commissioner of Mumbai police, Rakesh Maria recently said that Tauqeer, who is the Delhi police's mastermind of Indian Mujahideen, is a media creation. The point is who creates the media creations? Is it the media or the police or do they work together?
Read the full Interview or even watch the video of it:
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/mediapolice-collusion-is-a-threat-to-society/76234-3.html
***********
JAMIA TEACHERS' FORUM
On the 13th of September Delhi was rocked by a series
of bomb blasts resulting in the loss of innocent lives
and a feeling of anger and insecurity among the
citizens of the country. Exactly two weeks later the
city suffered another blast on 27 September.
There is absolutely no place for heinous acts of
terror that lead to the deaths of innocent people in a
civilized society with such acts only helping
fundamentalist right wing forces. The JTF reiterates
that strong steps need to be taken to combat terrorist
activities in our country and the actual culprits of
these inhuman crimes should be apprehended and
punished under law.
The police action in Jamia Nagar on 19 September, in
which two alleged terrorists Atif and Sajid and one
police officer Mohan Chand Sharma were shot dead, has
raised several questions.
Police versions of encounters in India, be it the
Ansal Plaza shootout in Delhi or Sohrabuddin and
Kausarbi's killings in Gujarat, have often been
untenable and at times even stage-managed. Only a
thorough and independent probe into the Jamia Nagar
encounter can put an end to the various claims and
counter-claims that are being made. The JTF demands
that a judicial enquiry by a judge with impeccable
democratic credentials be instituted at the earliest.
The police must be forced to act in a responsible,
transparent, and accountable manner and cannot be
allowed to harass innocent Muslims, in the form of
indiscriminate arrests. This is what was witnessed in
the days immediately following the encounter. Else, in
the name of fighting terrorism, the Muslim community
will be further alienated. The JTF demands that the
Delhi Police disclose all the arrests made in
connection with the Delhi blasts and provide the basis
for all such arrests. The heavy and intimidating
police presence in Jamia Nagar must be reduced without
delay so that normalcy is restored in the locality.
The teachers of Jamia have decided to set up a
Students Relief Committee (with private donations from
staff , teachers and students), and a Legal Aid
Committee to help those who are under detention. The
JTF supports these efforts and appeals to all teachers
to generously contribute to these two committees. The
University administration should maintain contact with
the students who are in police detention and ensure
that their constitutional rights are not violated. The
university must also provide necessary identification
and verification to all students of the university
living as tenants in the locality so that instances of
insecure landlords evicting their tenants in a panic
reaction are kept under check. To ensure normal
attendance in the University, the administration
should make provisions for accommodating those
students who have been evicted from private hostels in
Jamia Nagar.
The communal stereotyping of Muslim minorities only
alienates them and weakens the fight against
terrorism. That is precisely, what the RSS-BJP is
doing today. We must not forget that Hindu and Muslim
communal organizations are two sides of the same coin,
each reinforcing the other. Stereotyping and profiling
of Muslims belonging to Jamia Nagar, the students of
Jamia Millia Islamia and Muslims hailing from Azamgarh
is also being done by the media. Since the blasts, the
media has tried to sensationalize the issue by
reinforcing communal stereotypes. All this only
provides grist to the mill of communal elements who
are ever keen on making political capital out of human
tragedies. While we are all united against terrorism,
allowing communal typecasting and harassment of
innocent Muslims will only be playing into their
hands.
The JTF condemns terrorism in all its forms and
appeals to secular and democratic minded sections of
society to stand behind the Jamia community and ensure
that the due process of law and justice is not
subverted in the name of fighting terror.
Prof. Inayet Zaidi Prof. R.Gopinath
President Secretary
***********
"They found (and surreptitiously photographed with mobile phone cameras) half a dozen or more bullet injuries on the top of 17-year-old Sajid's skull. It is evident that he was held down and shot many times into his head. This could not be the "encounter killing" of a beleaguered police force defending itself against dreaded terrorist fire. It is deliberate, cold-blooded killing. Eye-witnesses say that Atiq's body had many marks of injury apart from bullets, including the peeling off skin from near his waist."
Date:19/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mag/2008/10/19/stories/2008101950100300.htm
Barefoot
The real travesty
HARSH MANDER
Calling for a judicial enquiry into the Batla House encounter is a not a travesty. Denying the need for one isŠ
The boys have been killed, and then charged post-facto of heinous terrorist outrages. They have no way now of defending their names or their lives.
*************
Post-mortem reports of Sharma, obtained by the news channel Headlines Today, contradict the claim of a straightforward "encounter" in which bullets were pumped into his chest and abdomen by Atif Ameen/Nissar as soon as he entered their apartment.
Guilty until proven innocent
PRAFUL BIDWAI
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20081024252109600.htm
India's counter-terrorism strategy, which has become deeply communalised and duplicitous, will only strengthen terrorism's sources and roots.
EVEN before Delhi witnessed the September 13 bomb blasts, on top of terrorist attacks targeting innocent civilians in Varanasi, Jaipur, Bangalore and Ahmedabad, it could be predicted that the government would respond to any fresh explosions by adopting a macho stance relying on excessive force.
*************
Preliminary Statement of the fact-finding team that visited Jamia Nagar, the place of the alleged 'encounter' of the police
A team of teachers, students, civil rights activists and intellectuals visited the site of the alleged encounter of the police with the 'terrorists' as claimed by them, on the 24th September 2008. The team comprised of Prof. Siddique Hassan, Deputy Amir Jamat-e-Islami Hind, SAR Geelani, Reader, Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, Dr. Waqar Anwar, Jamat-e-Islami Hind, Dr. SQR Ilyas, Editor, Afkar-e-Milli, Suvojit Bagchi, Journalist, Anil Chamaria, Journalist, Dr. Karen Gabriel, Reader, St. Stephens, DU, Rona Wilson, Secretary (Public Relations), Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners, Mahtab Alam, Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Banojyotsna Lahiri (JNU), Vanessa Chisti (JNU) and Sumati Panikkar (Independent Researcher)
(This report is available with us, and can be sent to you if requested. SANSAD)
*****************
Report on The Jamia 'Encounter'
by Jan Hastakshep, Campaign against Fascist Designs and PUDR
26 September 2008
Released to the Press on 26 September, 2008 at a Press Conference in New Delhi
A fact finding team constituted by Janhastakshep, Campaign against Fascist Designs and People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) went to look into the issues being raised in context to alleged an encounter at Batla House, Jamia Nagar on September 19, 2008. Members of the team were, Dr. N.K. Bhattacharya retd. Principal of a Delhi University College, Shahana Bhattacharya of Delhi University, Dr. Ish Misra, Delhi University, Prashant Bhusan, Advocate Supreme Court, Mr. N. D. Pancholi, Advocate, Delhi High Court, and Ms. Shreerekha, a teacher in Jamia Milia Islamia. The team was accompanied by Prof. Mir Imtiaz of Jamia Milia Islamia.
Some of the findings of the Fact finding exercise undertaken on September 21, 2008:
(This reort too is available with us and can be sent to you if you requested. SANSAD)
Jamia residents foiled "encounter" attempt
16 October 2008
New Delhi: The residents of Jamia Nagar today foiled a kidnapping/encounter attempt by some policemen in plainclothes in Shaheen Bagh area under the Jamia Nagar Police Station in Delhi.
It was around 8 in the night when a black Hyundai car with tinted glasses but with no number plates entered Shaheen Bagh. Five persons, may be ATS sleuths in plainclothes, came out and tried to drag a youth named Amir into the car. He resisted and asked them why they were dragging him. They said they will tell him soon.
As the Jamia Nagar encounter and subsequent indiscriminate picking of locals were fresh in people's mind, locals began gathering. The plainclothes people threatened them but as mob got thicker, some of them slipped away. The locals, however, were able to catch one who later turned out to be an ASI of Noida Police. The public brought both the policeman and Amir to Jamia Nagar police station.
Hundreds of people gathered around the police station and demanded action against the 'kidnapppers'. They alleged that their plan was to encounter the person and later declare him a terrorist.
People say Amir was with his friend Irfan on a motorcycle. Amir from Zafarabad area in Delhi had come here to meet someone. They alleged that his friend Irfan was police informer because those came in car tried to drag into the car only Amir, not Irfan. Irfan also fled the scene.
The car had no number plate but a number plate was found in the car which had DL1T W 1590 written on it. The plate looked new and unused. The mob also was able to snatch some documents from the Noida policemen. They include PANCARDS, mobile, SIM. Among other things in the car two ID with different picture but same name belonging to an IT company was found in the car. The angry residents damaged the car and broke window panes. The local police reached the spot and asked the residents to hand over Amir and the policemen but the people demanded that they will do it before higher authorities.
Soon ACP (Sarita Vihar) Gurcharan Das reached there and persuaded the locals to handover the men. After much effort the police could bring them and the car to the Jamia Nagar Police Station. But hundreds of locals followed the police and reached the station.
People remained outside the station until 1 am when the police announced that the FIR from Amir has been registered. This all proceeding was done in the presence of Aziz Burney, Editor of Sahara Urdu daily, Md Rahman, Delhi High Court advocate and some local leaders.
Talking to mediapersons around 1 am, DCP Ajay Choudhry said those who came in the car were Noida Police personnel. The Delhi Police will investigate the matter. He said he had contacted Noida SSP and he assured he is looking into the case and action will be taken against the guilty officials.
