NHRC clean chit for Batla encounter

Over the contentious issue on how two alleged terrorists managed to give the slip, the Commission said it was "possible in the melee".

The NHRC was asked by the High Court to inquire whether the police had opened fire without justification on September 19 last year or whether it had exercised the right of self-defence.

The next date of hearing in the case is August 3, when the report will be examined by the High Court.

Meanwhile, while M C Sharma's wife Maya Sharma told Newsline she is happy with the report, the civil rights group — Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Group — has criticised the NHRC's findings. It claimed the Commission's inquiry was carried out in an "inexplicably secret manner" and that it never heard the voices from Azamgarh — of the families of those accused and killed — or that of other rights groups campaigning on the issue.

Report highlights
The NHRC report brings to light minute details of various medico-legal and forensic reports on deaths of Inspector M C Sharma and suspected militants Atif Amin and Mohammed Sajid:
* 5 wounds found on Inspector Sharma's body: 2 bullet entry and exit wounds each and drain tube wound resulting from surgery
* Sharma received 2 bullet injuries: on left arm and abdominal wall, or "on front portion of his body". Autopsy surgeon opined that cause of his death "in this case is haemorrhagic shock due to firearm injury to abdomen".
* Postmortem reports of Atif and Sajid mention several ante-mortem injuries, including firearm wounds. Ante-mortem injuries are injuries received before death — they may be a contributing factor in the death, or even its cause
* Serological examination found blood group of both Atif and Sajid was "AB" and bloodstains of the same group were found on the floor
* Firearms examination report confirms from swabs taken from right hands of Atif and Sajid containing gunshot residue. Comparison of these residue with those found on bullet-proof jackets of injured head constable Rajbir Singh conclusively establish Atif and Sajid had both used firearms at the time of incident
* Ballistic expert report confirmed that eight fired cartridge, recovered from the flat, were shot from two pistols that did not belong to the police party and had their marks on Singh's jacket

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