Sunday, September 21, 2008

Media frenzy over Jamia Nagar encounter: Mail Today points out loopholes in police version

Indian journalism has just changed. It has taken a drastic shift. It no longer asks questions, rather it accepts the police version.

Seeking truth is no more on its agenda. The courts aren't needed now. Just police version is enough to term anybody a terrorist. Sadly this happens in Delhi, the national capital.

The difference between a suspect, an accused and a convict, has ceased to exist. The result is that the same police that is termed 'useless' for failing to solve a murder case on a particular day by the media, gets so much praise that it is taken to the pedestal of 'saviours' the next day.

It's like a theatre now. Just like one day you criticise Dhoni and say that he is a waste and the other day he wins a match for you, and you are all praise for him. But this is dangerous for civil society. With all due respects to slain Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, we must remember that middle-class lumpenisation and such poor journalism would be detrimental for any democracy.

Indian press must act like a fourth estate & the scribes must not become 'embedded journalists'.

We don't say that the encounter is fake. But the fact that every time a new mastermind comes up and media accepts it, forgetting that the person named the mastermind and blamed for the same blsat earlier is now probably either lodged in jail or acquitted.


The media just ignored that Waliullah who was accused of bombings in courts, has been absolved of anti-national activities recently. Now new masterminds are blamed for those crimes. We all hope that those behind the blasts should be arrested and there must not be any eyewash.


It was in Delhi that the infamous Cannaught Place encounter had taken place ten years ago. Then also the middle-class and the majority of papers accepted the version. It later surfaced that the encounter was fake and court sentenced 10 cops.

And it was the same 'encounter specialists' of the Delhi police's cell, the officials of which took pride in flaunting the number of persons they had shot. The same team. At least, media shouldn't be so gullible.

Bharat Bhushan's Mail Today, though it comes from the stable of India Today, has stood out as a newspaper that doesn't get swayed by the frenzy. Let the police complete the investigations and the courts should be allowed to do their jobs.

1.Atif submitted his personal identification documents including driving licence, even photographs and cell phone number for police verification. The documents were with police.


2. Why Atif provided correct details about himself to police.


3. No terrorist would give his photograph to police after having staged a series of killer blasts (Ahmedabad and others), said an intelligence official, reported Mail Today on September 20.

4. Atif Ameen was brain behind Indian Mujahideen, had plotted and executed blasts in three cities that claimed 100 lives and had forged tenancy verification papers. The police statements are riddled with holes.

5. If police were acting on a ti;p-off why there was no protective gear for police. Even the slain inspector didn't have the proper footwear.

6. If Atif and his housemates were hardened terrorists what stopped them from using AK 47 which they said were at the terrorist's disposal. Why did they use only the pistols?

7. He submitted his papers at Jamia Nagar police station on August 20. Wouldn't it have been easier for him to fudge his identity or better still, retreat to safety of his home village?

8. On Friday, Aatif's flatmate Zeeshan took two re-exams to improve his percentage at IIPM and then re-appeared on TV channel to defend the innocence of his friend Atif. If he was a terrorist, he would have been better off fleeing Delhi after TV channels news broke of encounter. Police had no clue about his whereabouts and was arrested moments after he appeared on Headlines Today.

9. Had Atif planted the bombs that rocked Ahmedabad and Jaipur, would he be giving his home address in police verification report on August 15, three weeks after Ahmedabad blasts?

10. Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnail Singh said two youth escaped in the thick of action. Was it possible for two men to escape from a rabbit warren of a building with tiny rooms? They couldn't have escaped from the narrow lane teeming with policemen. The entire area was full of policemen and all residents and shopkeepers were earlier asked to go inside their homes and down shutters. Nobody else was on streets except policemen. To escape, the two would have had to jump from fourth floor, they'd have died.

11. How did Abu Bashar, in police custody for long, give clues only now?

Evening newspaper Mail Today in its September 20, 21 issues asks:

Newspaper poses questions to Jt CP

What exactly was the tip-off?

If the tip-off was about terror suspects why were the police not in terror gear and using bullet proof vests?

How the two escape if there was no back door or staircase?

Did Atif Ameen and his roommates give all their details to police?

If the suspected terrorists were involved in blasts, why would they submit these details to police?

Why did Zeeshan appear in public on TV channel if he was involved in blasts?

Who are the two who escaped? What are their names?

Why would a terrorist continue with his studies with 79% class attendance if he want to blow away cities?

Why were policemen not in anti-terror gear, one was wearing track suit, the other wearing sandals?

Meanwhile, it is pertinent to read Vir Sanghvi's article on Encounters. It is insightful:

Other cases of mistaken identity have rarely caused a stir if the victims have
been poor or powerless. A few years ago, the Bombay Police shot a chanawallah
dead after mistaking him for a gangster. The papers tried to make a fuss but
readers were simply not interested.


Can any society afford a policy where any policeman can kill anybody at will and then later claim that the victim was a gangster or a terrorist? And yet, that’s exactly where India is headed.


Link http://www.mailtoday.in/

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Author,
link to the original post?

Regards.

Legal Affairs RTA said...

yeah i completely agree with the subject.....and the points raised by the author do make sense. to reitrate a few:
Dear all,

I do appreciate ur valuable comments on the said encounter but i request all people willing to post a comment on this story to go through the statements made by our well-reputed DP and match them to the statements made by the police of the states where these terrorist attcks been carried out....one more thing i wud like to suggest is that every body needed to be unbiased before makin a comment... i say it is total fake. an encounter tht has been carried out with a high political drama n i strongly see a foul play into it. being a native of Azamgarh i wud like to inform u all tht the guys who are labelled as masterminds of the blasts tht rocked several cities in India are a mere prey to the corrupted politics. i knew them personally as most of them grew up in front of my eyes, playing nite cricket matches in their hometowns, very humble n innocent guys. i can't believe rather m shocked n stunned the way DP is maligning the character of Azamgarh. they r shameless people who never think even once before alleging of something. there are millions of questions in the mind of a common public tht need to be answered.
1. if they were terrorist how cum DP raided their rooms and crept in so easily? how childish it is to say tht they were having AK-47 in their bags and imported pistols in their hands while firing at police.
2. DP said two of them escaped during the operation. can any body help me out to make me understand tht how cum it be possible when they were all the palces inside the flat L-18 on the stairs, in the streets, n whole area was covered by DP and moreover there was no way out???????
3. as per our hon'ble Police Commisioner: when Mr. M.C Sharma approached the room and asked them to surrender they fired 8 round at them and in retaliation they fired 22 rounds ..isn't it surprising tht two of them were shot dead at the spot but Saif who wass arrested later did get even a single scratch on his body?????
4.DP claimed earlier tht Juneid is a 14 year child who is expert in makin Bombs now they r sayin it is Sajid who was Bomb specialist, one of the shot dead.
5. Earlier it was Abul Bashar who was mastermind behind all the blasts carried out in the country now it is shifted to Atif ???? who gonna be the next dear DP?
6. how cum 1st of the 4 bullets hit MC sharma in his bak when he was facing the door????? if the terrorist fired frm inside???
7. why DP keeps changing statements sometimes, they accuse Tauqeer to be behind all the blasts,then it is Atif who was a genius in mastermindin the whole plot, then it Shakeel who use to give ideas nad tricks to Atif, then it is Saquib ????? my God when they r going to stop these fake allegations... anyway, needless to say tht any body who has a common sense wud dfntly condemn this heinous blastin acts but at the same time wud dfntly look forward to get the real proof and evidences against the alleged. or else he is bind to think a foul play...

one more thing i wud like to add... i wonder y this investigation doesn't consider those who were involved making bombs and caught red handed in Kanpur, the ones who also involved bombin in danded...is it bcoz they were RSS activists or it is bcoz they belong to another religion ????? terrorism has no religion. i ask all the well wishers of our native land to stand against terrorism.

Anonymous said...

Fake Encounter!!!! where is Teesta Setalvad???? Where is CNN-IBN???? Where is Barkha Dutt??? where are the Pseudo Secularists??? Human Rights activists??
oh...it is a Congress Lead Government in Delhi! and Shiela Deekshit is the CM not Narendra Modi.So no issues!!!!

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh just got a weapon "A CAMOUFLAGE NUCLEAR DEAL" to distract the public from the fallout of his Government.He and His Boss Sonia bluffs India Remain poorest country since independence because we didn't have this nuclear deal!!! and it will solve the entire problem we are facing!!!! Like Indira Gandhi...Sonia believes as long as India remain illiterate Congress can SOW and HARVEST.In the coming election the SEED IS THIS CAMOUFLAGE NUCLEAR DEAL!!!.

Anonymous said...

Nair Ji

Abusing Teesta Setalvad is okay. But we need activists.

When the police frames somebody including (God forbid) a relative of yours, you will then only realise what they do.

Is desh mein police itni corrupt hai aapki FIR likhwa kar dikha dijiye agar motorcycle chori ho jaaye ya mobile.

Fateh Chand

Anonymous said...

indian police,all senior level all are sick and corrupt,they just want to cover up these goons from the BJP/RSS.But they forgot the history repeats,one day they have to pay the price what they do to some one who is innocent.Congress,just so lunatic,it is a brahminical fascist party,and BJP is a sick men killer party who are showing in real but their original godl is to get to parliament.
None of them have any fixed policy,they are just so business like family of politics.Most of the family members are distributed into all political paties so if any wins they are in the power.they are to be eliminated if india has to be clean and country with no corruption.police will automatically be ok if the enforcing authority and judiciary is independent.

Haider Khan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I do not know from where some of the writers have been geting their informations. Can police party, going for arresting some criminals / terrorist, go in their uniform so that the criminals know their identity. That is why Mr.Sharma and party went in civil dress then the had sent one of their men up posing as a salesmen after getting his blank call Shrma and party went up. As far as the bullet wound that killed Sharma is concerned it was in stomach and chest so I think the people who are saying thing conterary are either misinformed or trying to justify the acts of the people who have commited the dasterdy act of mass killing of the innocent people.

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