Awarding encounters

On June 15th 2004,the Gujarat police announced that four operatives of the dreaded Lashkar-e-Toiba had been killed in an encounter in Ahmedabad. Photos of their bodies,lined up in front of the blue Indica car in which they were allegedly travelling,did the rounds. But,such being — sadly — the reputation the Gujarat police force has earned for itself,allegations of a fake encounter were bound to arise.

In that narrative,Ishrat Jahan,a student of a well-known Mumbai college,was picked up in her home town and killed,along with three of her friends,in police custody — all for the awards that terrorist kills bring law enforcement officials. Ishrat’s mother filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court seeking a CBI probe into the killings,a petition that is still being heard. In court,the Centre filed an affidavit stating that the four dead were indeed LeT suspects — though the Centre was silent on the manner of their killing. Now comes the latest twist: a Gujarat magistrate tasked with investigating custodial deaths has held that encounter was faked. Ishrat was killed in cold blood. The Gujarat government has been swift to oppose the magisterial report.

This is a mistake,for there are two distinct questions here: First,were Ishrat and the three others terrorists? And second,was the encounter staged? These are very different questions. The Centre’s claim that they were LeT suspects,even if true,doesn’t justify murder-for-honours by the state police. That is not the rule of law; it is the mockery of it. The BJP has been quick to add that Modi cannot be held responsible for everything that happens in the state. But the Gujarat government’s decision to instinctively back its men sends the reverse signal: that innocent or guilty,the Gujarat government is in this together. As the high court decides on its next move,Narendra Modi must know that India’s eyes,not to mention those of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team,are on him.