'Police didn't fire in self-defence, planted AK-56'
Express News ServiceSep 09, 2009 at 0837 hrs Ahmedabad:The Ahmedabad police had staged a fake encounter of 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan and three others, planted arms on their dead bodies and "framed" them as terrorists, says Magistrate S P Tamang, who investigated the 2004 incident, in his inquiry report.S P Tamang report rubbishes the police claim that during the encounter one of the four had fired from an AK-56.
The report rubbishes the police claim that during the encounter one of the four had fired from an AK-56. It quotes from the handwash reports of those killed, from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), saying there were no traces of gunpowder or ammunition on any of them.
The police in its FIR had said that one of the four took position on a road divider and started indiscriminate firing with an AK-56. But the FSL had not found even a single used cartridge from that spot. The police, says the inquiry report, had planted the AK-56 and a 9 mm pistol to frame those killed as terrorists.
The report also points to other contradictions: while the police FIR said the cops had fired 70 rounds from their service revolver, sten guns and AK-47, the FSL had recovered only 50 used cartridges from the scene of the crime and that too of AK-56 rifles. Not a single used cartridge of ten guns and service revolvers was found from the spot.
Tamang says, "according to my investigation, police had not at all fired in self defence", as the FSL had not found any used cartridges of such guns from the spot. "The Crime Branch and police officials might have fired these cartridges elsewhere but not at the scene of crime," Tamang says in the report.
The report says that according to forensic evidence, Javed alias Pranesh Pillai, was killed by an AK-56, and adds, "That means the AK-56 was not with the accused, but with the police." Zeeshan Zohar alias Abdul Gani alias Janbaaz was also found to have died of AK-56 bullets. "According to my investigation, the unlicensed AK-56 was planted by police," Tamang says.
OTHER LOOPHOLES
From the right-hand pocket of Amjad Ali alias Salim's track suit, Rs 1,250 and a photo of himself was found. On the back of the photo, "Salim" was written in English. According to the report, the photo was taken during his detention by the police, who scribbled the name as well. This is because if he was a Pakistani, as the police said, his name was likely to have been written in Urdu and not English. The photo was also planted to establish his identity as Salim, the report says.
"Similarly, in Zeeshan Zohar's right-hand trouser pocket, police had found an identity card during inquest panchnama. From his pocket the police recovered just an I-card and nothing more, not a single paisa, which is strange. It also indicates that the I-card must have been also planted by police," the report added.
In Javed's case, on the right-hand trouser back pocket, police found only a driving licence. If a person is traveling from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, it is difficult to believe that he would not carry any money or anything else. The licence card may have been left in the pocket to establish his identity, the report says.
According to the Panchnama, Ishrat's college I-card was found around her neck. "It is difficult to believe that any girl traveling form Mumbai to Ahmedabad would hang her college I-card around her neck," the report says.
THE DEATHS
The report says that on June 14, 2004 Javed was killed between 8.30 pm and 9 pm, while the others were killed between 11 pm and midnight.
"They were shot at from close range. The Indica car (which the police said the four had used) was either towed or driven to the declared spot of the crime. Amjad's body was dragged out and positioned on the road divider. The left rear tyre of the car was fired at by the police. The police then fired 50 AK-56 rounds — the used cartridges of which were found from the scene. The police then planted what it later claimed were recovered weapons in the car," says the report.
THE DISCREPANCIES
The police in the inquest panchnama did not mention about the recovery of 90 live cartridges of AK-56, but the FSL report mentions having recovered them from the scene of crime. It means that the police must have planted them on the spot of crime, the report says.
Behind the rear seat of the Indica, a blue coloured bag and 81 live cartridges of AK-56 were found according to the panchnama, but this is not mentioned in the FIR. This means that the police had planted them to prove they were terrorists, the report says.
Similarly, from the car boot, 17 kg of sulphur and urea powder was recovered from a jute bag, according the spot panchnama. But this was also not mentioned in the FIR.
In the car boot, in a black suitcase, Rs 2,06,610 was found; again this was mentioned in the FIR. The police had planted the money it got from other sources to prove that they had received this amount from Laskhar-e-Toiba to spread terror, the report says.
This money was recovered from a bag that had a number lock, but the lock was open. It is difficult to believe that anyone would keep a bag unlocked if there was so much money in it, the report says. The FIR does not mention that the police had recovered from the suitcase a Thuraya brand satellite phone, its extra battery, charger, refill using card and a hand free speaker. But these were detailed in the panchnama.
POST-MORTEM REPORT
"In the post mortem report, rigor mortis (stiffening of the muscles after death) was detected in the body as well as half-digested food. ...Rigor mortis sets in 2-3 hours after death during the month of December, beginning leg upwards and taking a time frame of 12 hours," says the report.
According to the report, rigor mortis had set in and developed properly on the entire body of all the four dead. Therefore, death might have occurred 12 to 24 hours earlier as was reported in the post-mortem report that took place on June 15 at 3.40 pm. "If we account for that time, it means they might have died somewhere between 3-4 pm, June 14 and 3 am of June 15."
SELF-DEFENCE THEORY
The distance between the police's Gypsy and the Indica car according, to the map of the scene of crime, is 33 feet. This is while the distance to the policemen who had taken position was around 66 feet away from the car. The police in its complaint had said that the 'terrorists' had fired upon them from the roadsides, but the nature of the injuries show they were not fired at from a long distance.
"According to principles of medical jurisprudence they were shot at close range.... the nature and size of exit and entry wound vary¿. and they were all shot while they were sitting, from a close range," the report says.
The report says that the FIR has not mentioned about any tip-off about a woman terrorist. But the police detained Ishrat along with Javed and others. She was also killed because she would have revealed the police plans and would have foiled the police conspiracy, the report adds.
"All the policemen involved had hatched a conspiracy and illegally detained Ishrat Jahan Raza because she was a Muslim from Mumbai, saying she was LeT fidayeen terrorist. She was detained illegally with others on June 12 sometime between 12.30 afternoon and 9 pm.
They were taken to some place different from the spot of crime on 14 June 2004, and Ishrat was killed between 11 pm and midnight in cold blood, very cruelly, shot at very short range, the report says.
--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited.blogspot.com/
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment