Truth revealed: Ishrat Jahan proved innocent

By Pratiti Chakraborty

With the verdict on Ishrat Jahan out, the Ahmedabad police will have to find a strong statement to come out of it.

Once again Gujarat seems to be surrounded by a controversy. Ishrat Jahan, an alleged Islamic terrorist, was killed in Ahmedabad in 2004. There were several claims that her encounter may have been staged. These claims have now been accepted by the Special Investigation team.

Mourners carrying the body of Ishrat Jahan
Photo Credit: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters

Ishrat Jahan was a teenager from Mumbra in her second year of college. Hailing from a lower middle class family, she had to work in order to support her education. One day she left her home as usual, never to return. Ishrat and three of her companions were gunned down by the Gujarat police. Police claimed that they were associated to the Islamic terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba and were in Gujrat to kill Narendra Modi.

A three member Special Investigation Team concluded that the murder of Ishrat Jahan and three others were victims of a fabricated case by the Ahmedabad police.

Senior IPS officer Satish Verma had expressed uncertainty about the circumstances of the encounter. This is not the first time that the Gujarat police has acted under the orders of senior politicians and staged a murder. Under the pretext of protecting the political leaders, there have been a few such instances in the past. Ishrat and her associates were, apparently, in Gujarat to avenge the happenings of the communal riots of 2002.

The police was not been able to provide sufficient proof in any of the cases of the victim’s involvement with the terrorist groups.  However, nothing seems to stop them from repeatedly being involved in such killings. Who should be blamed in such cases? It is not easy to take a stand and support either of the sides. 

The police are acting on the orders issued to them by the senior officials and politicians. At the same time if we are to believe that Ishrat’s motive was to assassinate Modi, can she be blamed. After the atrocities they faced, as a community, how does one seek solace? One can call it revenge, but is it not a form of justice where it has failed to be served.

Sources: Times of India, Hindustan Times, Rediff.com

Also read: 

The Ishrat Jahan case should disturb all right-thinking cops:

http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-the-ishrat-jahan-case-should-disturb-all-right-thinking-cops/20111123.htm

Timeline: The Ishrat Jahan encounter case:

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/timeline-the-ishrat-jahan-encounter-case/204423-3.html

Modi's cops implicates in fake encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan: http://currentnews.in/2011/11/21/modi%E2%80%99s-cops-implicated-in-fake-encounter-killing-of-ishrat-jahan/

Justice in Gujarat: Fake encounters must be punished:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/editorial/justice-in-gujarat-fake-encounters-must-be-punished/articleshow/10837239.cms

Investigating officer's role under scanner:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Ishrat-Jahan-case-Investigating-officers-role-under-scanner/articleshow/10837247.cms

My Angel

 

I hate the sun for it shines so bright

I hate the moon cuz it beams all night...

I despise the world cuz all are so glad

looking at them only makes me sad...

 

Something is missing where is my smile

I go out looking for it mile after mile...

Life is not as it used to be without my dad

He's not here now, I miss him n feel so very bad...

 

It has been a while now since he has left,

But every moment his absence I have felt...

A lot has changed in my life after that day

My days with him are all I always replay...

 

I have covered a long way in the past few years

Still, when I am alone my eyes are filled with tears...
But as they all told me time will go on

DAD has been my angel and helped me move on...

Giving way to justice

When a 14 year old girl is found brutally murdered in her own home, one expects the murderer to be tried immediately. However, it works differently in India where the duration of the trial has been two years and still counting. The Noida double murder case of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj has been on since May 2008.
Aarushi was found dead with her throat slit in her house, on 16th May 2008. The first suspect was the missing domestic servant, Hemraj. However, the next day his body was found on the terrace of Talwar’s residence. This turned the case around and was open to further investigations. Owing to the complexity of the case it was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Due to lack of evidence against the other servants, the next obvious suspect, Aarushi’s father, was taken into custody.
While the CBI was carrying out the polygraph test and Narco analysis tests, the media virtually took it up as their personal responsibility to see the end of the case. They called upon people from all fields to be on the panel to express their opinions on the manner in which the case was shaping up. The manner in which the case was covered received countrywide attention and was indicative of the media’s sensationalism. The media has been accused of holding trials and passing judgement even before the court made its decision. The continuous portrayal of Dr Talwar as the ‘murderer’ caused a lot of anger among the people across the country. Such incidents can sometimes go on to put pressure on the judicial system, even leading to certain wrong decisions and at times, delayed judgements.
The recent development in the case is that the judge took cognizance of the CBI closure report and summoned Dr Nupur and Dr Rajesh Talwar as accused in the murders. This will without a doubt attract similar media attention. However, it is vital that the media acts responsibly. Instead of pressurizing the court, they should let the law take its course and let justice be delivered.