Two years on Batla: where are the messiahs now?

By Afroz Alam Sahil, The Milli Gazette

Two years of Batla House encounter are now passed; but it is a pity that even after revelation of all facts, self-styled protectors and champions of human rights, who in fact deserve to be called selfish politicians, who had tried to project themselves as heroes on the dead bodies of the innocent youths killed in this encounter, are nowhere to be seen now.

Why after all government of India is not allowing a judicial enquiry in this case? All laws and the Constitution have been kept on the backburner in this biggest democracy of the world. The government which, after enforcing the laws and Constitution had patted itself on the back, is now maintaining complete silence under the same laws. The interesting thing is that under the RTI Act we had tried to know from the Prime Minister, President of India, Home Minister and Human Rights Commission about the conditions considered necessary for judicial enquiry in any encounter and whether Batla House encounter does not fulfill these conditions, etc. According to RTI rules, informations asked for under RTI should be supplied or replies given within one month, but the informations asked for have not been supplied till date. What else can be more shameful than this?

Though dissenting voices and questions were being raised from day one of the encounter and role of police therein but the murder of Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma kept these questions under wrap to some extent. Now, police has framed the chargesheet also and the master mind of this attack (it is a different thing that masterminds go on changing every month) has also been accused of MC Sharma’s murder. AIIMS’ JP Trauma Centre, Delhi Police and the concerned departments are trying to hide the facts. Delhi Police deserves ‘praise’ for telling lies and hoodwinking and befooling the seekers of truth and justice. It has been presenting this whole story in its own peculiar style with tacit support of all the interested parties including the court because of which the entire problem has become complicated. Every now and then a new mastermind (real or fictitious) is caught. It is interesting to know that Maharashtra police had presented its own masterminds which are different from the masterminds of Delhi police. It is a different thing that every theory or story of police ends at some stage without any truth ever being proved and after that a new story starts in which there is less of reason and intelligence but more of cruelty and barbarity. The doctor also deserves praise who had prepared Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma’s post-mortem report and which is now before the people, but there is no doctor or forensic expert who could read and give a brief account of this report. Electronic media have already said that after seeing this report all forensic experts are surprised and not willing to say anything.

Now that the entire picture is clear through RTI, why all those people are silent who were saying at the top of their voice at that time that Muslims speak and act like terrorists. Why Congress which apparently claims to be the sympathiser of Muslims is silent today? Where are all those organisations, and why they all have gone into hiding, which were trying to scratch the wounds of Muslims and rubbing salt on them? Where are those so-called Muslims who are today occupying political posts?

Whatever the facts may be, one thing is clear that there is certainly some flaw in this encounter theory which was not only crudely planned but lacked patience also. If Inspector Sharma’s death would not have made the whole affair emotional and tragic, it was quite possible that police would have been made answerable for many more of its actions, though even now it is trying to avoid answering so many unpleasant and embarrassing questions and using the court as a shield. Earlier, it had used National Human Rights Commission as a shield whose truth and partial role too has been exposed through the post-mortem report which Delhi police is refusing to give because court itself has asked it not to make it public or give it to any body, whereas this post-mortem report should have been given to the family members of the deceased within three days of the encounter.

Muslims have all along been accused of terrorism but in this very country incidents of Hindu terrorism too have come to the fore many times. Questions have been raised on the death of Hemant Karkare but government as well as media do not pay any attention to this and try to suppress it all the time. Why? This is the real and main question and if its answer is found, the truth of Batla House encounter will automatically be out and probably Batla House-like encounters will no longer be needed. But hoping such a thing is like living in a fool’s paradise.

Groupings in our society are increasing day-by-day and such elements are there in both communities which, by encouraging such trend, want to achieve success. Such people, for their own selfish interests, do not care at all about the feelings of others and by suppressing their feelings, achieve their own selfish interests. Such people do not like the matchless paintings of Maqbool Fida Husain, Aamir Khan in Gujarat and Shah Rukh Khan in Mumbai, not also the Mosque in Ayodhya and the beautiful and sweet language which is considered the national language of India. To such people, the killing of two innocent youths is a matter for celebration and enjoyment, but they do not try to think that if our young men are terrorists why have they become so?

Today, demand for judicial enquiry into Batla House encounter is being made from all sides, but it depends on the thinking of the government as to what it wants and~what it will get done. We have to fight the battle of truth and it is truth which is always victorious. The following couplets of Kaifi Azmi are apt in this connection:

Aaj ki raat bahut sard hawa chalti hai
Aaj ki raatfursat se neend aayegi
Sab utho main bhi uthoon
Koi khirki is deewaar mein khuljaayegi
(Tonight very cold wind is blowing
Tonight we will have carefree and
sound sleep
Let us all get up, me too
Some window will open up
in this very wall)

Decision Points