National Human Rights Commission’s clean chit to Delhi Police regarding Batla House encounter in which two young men Muhammad Sajid (17) and Muhammad Atif Ameen (24) along with Inspector M.C. Sharma were killed, has raised serious doubts about the neutrality of this reputed custodian of Human Rights.
There is no doubt that NHRC has played a significant role in taking notice of human rights violations and safeguarding the rights of citizens. In this regard we should not forget the successful role it played regarding the cases of Muslim massacre in Gujarat. It is because of its intervention that the Supreme Court constituted SIT to probe the role of highly placed politicians and others in that ghastly pogrom.
But its recent report has come under fire from the Muslim community, several reputed journalists and responsible human rights organisations like PUCL, PUDR, APCR, ANHAD and Jamia Teachers Solidarity Group, etc. They have severely criticised the erroneous stand taken by the Commission. Some have termed the report as dancing to the tunes of Delhi police. They point out that it is a virtual endorsement of the police version, leaves many questions unanswered and raises several doubts.
It appears prudent that NHRC must review the report to save its prestige and credibility.
It is strange that the Commission members did not care to visit the place of occurrence, Flat No. 108 L/18 of Batla House. They did not entertain the applications of relatives of the victims who wished to depose. The key witness Muhammad Saif, who is alleged to have been arrested from the same flat, was also not examined. They do not give a satisfactory answer to the question: how two more alleged accomplices fled from the scene when the whole area was surrounded by police and intelligence personnel from early hours of dawn.
It must be reminded that the authenticity of this encounter has been under serious doubt from the day one. All demands for independent enquiries were rejected. Post-mortem reports of victims were not made available even when RTI Act was invoked. Lt. Governor of Delhi denied permission for an enquiry under the plea that it may demoralise the police who are fighting the terrorists and laying down their lives to defend the country from “terrorists”.
One of the alleged “terrorists” was Muhammad Sajid, a 17 years old young boy, who came to Delhi a couple of months before the incident to try his luck at Jamia Higher Secondary School, and another alleged boy Atif Ameen, who was residing in the same area for last two years and was a student of Jamia Millia Islamia, whose antecedents were also verified by local police station. How can people accept the view that the duo were hardcore terrorists who were involved in almost all major bomb blasts of Jaipur, Ahmedabad and finally at New Delhi?
A section of media has written how a central minister enacted and directed this fake encounter to save his own skin.
The need of the hour is justice to victims and salvaging the credibility of NHRC. Therefore, the Government must order a judicial enquiry by a sitting Supreme Court Judge or by C.B.I. Nothing less than that can save the situation.