By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The Coordination Committee of Indian Muslims, an umbrella body of leading Muslim organziations which was created in the backdrop of minority witchhunting in the name of war on terror in India, has categorically rejected the National Human Rights Commission report on Batla House encounter in which the apex rights body gave clean chit to the Delhi Police.
“It is one-sided as NHRC has solely depended on police version of the 19th September 2008 event, post mortem reports of slain inspector M C Sharma and Atif Ameen and Mohammed Sajid and forensic report and arrived to the conclusion that ‘there was no violation of human rights and the action of the police was fully protected by the law’” CCIM leaders told media today at Press Club of India in New Delhi
“NHRC betrayed the trust of the people by completely denying the other party to be heard. NHRC completely failed to protect the human rights of the victims and common man. In doing so NHRC has lost the faith of the common people that it is above the state pressure,” they said.
The CCIM has reiterated its demand of high level judicial enquiry into the encounter in absence of which the blot on the Delhi police and Home Ministry cannot be cleared. They also demanded high level judicial enquiry in all high profile terrorist incidents.
The NHRC report on Batla House encounter is nothing but a joke to human rights, said Mujtaba Farooque, politial affairs secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and coordinator of CCIM. He express concern over rising cases of encounters saying that the accused or suspects should be brought to book, not be murdered in cold blood, Farooque said.
Maulana Ameeduzzaman Keranvi, General Secretary, All India Muslim Majlise Mushawarat (Maulana Salim Qasmi group), said the report which seems just a police version of the incident has endangered the credibility of the rights body. He demanded judicial enquiry.
Maulana Amir Rashadi, president, Rashtriya Ulema Council, strongly condemned the NHRC as well as the Congress-led UPA Government. “The report is just an exercise to save the police and the then Home Minister Shivraj Patil who was little interested in security of people,” he said. “The Batla House encounter was a conspiracy hatched out by Patil and the Delhi Police to bail out the former,” Maulana Rashadi alleged.
Muslim Political Council of India chief Dr Tasleem Rahmani said the present report on the encounter should not be surprising as only this was expected when the government ignored the judicial enquiry demand by human rights groups, Muslim organizations and locals. “When the enquiry was assigned to the NHRC it was clear that the rights body will save the police.” He rejected the Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s indication that government may ask NHRC to reenquire the case. “There is no need of a fresh enquiry by NHRC. We demand a CBI probe in the supervision of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court.”
Other leaders who addressed the press included Dr SQR Ilyas, working committee member, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Muqueem Faizi, Asst General Secretary, All India Jamiat Ahle Hadees, Maulana Abdul Wahab Khilji, president, Indian Islahi Movement, A R Agwan, executive committee member, All India Muslim Majlise Mushawarat and Suhail K K, president, Students Islamic Organization of India.
The leaders announced to hold a demonstration against the NHRC report at Jantar Mantar tomorrow.
The CCIM has rejected the NHRC report on the basis of following points:
1. It is one-sided, and NHRC has solely depended on police version of 19th September 2009 events, post mortem reports of slain inspector Mr. M.C. Sharma and Mr. Atif Ameen and Mr. Mohammed Sajid and forensic report and arrived to the conclusion that “there was no violation of human rights and the action of the police was fully protected by the law.”
2. NHRC did not look at the other side, they didn’t meet the other occupants of L-18, neither they contacted the locals of Jamia Nagar and nor the relatives of the slain boys from Azamgarh.
3. NHRC didn’t visit the flat No 108 of L-18 to check the police version and came to the conclusion that police acted in the self defence.
4. NHRC reported two contradictory version of the police one by Shri R.P. Upadhayay Additional Commissioner of Police (Vigilance), Delhi, submitted in a report to NHRC on 23 October 2008 and another not by Mr. Karnail Singh, Commissioner of Police Special Cell Delhi, submitted in a note which was submitted to NHRC on 19th November 2008 and does not tried to verify which statement is correct and which is not.
5. The NHRC also didn’t try to ascertain by wether M.C. Sharma was actually killed by the Atif and Sajid and also who opened fire first. Relying on the police version, NHRC came to conclusion that “if the police had fired first, Atif and Sajid would have been injured and would not have been in a position to fire back at the police. Hence, the police party acted in self defence. To prove that M.C. Sharma was killed by Atif and Sajid the NHRC relied on CFSL report which has found chemical on the hands of Atif and Sajid and the police version that it found two 0.30 mm pistols and that the pistols do not belong to police.
6. NHRC also didn’t answer that when M.C. Sharma got the medical aid within five minutes (Holy Family Hospital was 5 minutes distance from L-18) and when his vital parts were not hurt by gunshot then why he died because of excessive bleeding.
7. When AIIMS post mortem report says that the surgery done on M.C. Sharma at Holy Family Hospital destroyed the vital evidences as to how they came to the conclusion that M.C. Sharma was hit from front side.
8. NHRC also didn’t try to know how Sajid was fired on his skull. His photographs showed multiple injuries on his skull, which suggests that he was made to sit first and then shot in cold blood from above. NHRC simply says that Sajid’s post-mortem report shows several ante-mortem injuries including prominent bullet wounds but it didn’t analysed the report.
9. NHRC also avoided answering whether Atif and Sajid were actually terrorists or not. Its simple answer was that this is not an issue before the Commission.
10. NHRC also violated its own guidelines regarding magisterial enquiry and simply accepted the police version that Lt. Governor didn’t permit such enquiry. NHRC must answer whether such an enquiry in all the police encounters is mandatory or it is the choice of the state Government to order it or not.
11.This is surprising that NHRC also didn’t try to cross examine the sole eye witness Mr. Mohammed Saif who was arrested alive from flat no 108 of L-18.
CCIM comprises organizations including Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Jamiat Ulama-I- Hind, Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Indian Islahi Movement, Tanzim Abna-e-Qadeem, All India Muslim Majlise Mushawarat, Muslim Political Council of India, Students Islamic Organisation of India, Ulema Council, Azamgarh, Majlis-e-Fikro Amal.