DR. S. AUSAF SAIED VASFI presents a comprehensive analysis of Sohrabuddin fake encounter and attempts a narcoanalysis of Modi and the officials who are behind this.
By the time these lines appear in print, the Supreme Court of India, the highest palladium of justice would have given its opinion on the desirability or otherwise of the CBI inquiry into the killings of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his non-political housewife Kausarbi and Tulsiram Prajapati, the only material witness to the murder most foul in Gujarat.
This year the State is going for its Assembly Election. This fact has added a queer dimension to the outrage that rocked the state 18 months ago. The Saffron, once again, stands in the dock in its model state. Except BJP, each and every party is demanding Mr. Modi’s dismissal. The Central Government is not for it, because, feel some observers, it may shift the national debate from the real issue to the President’s rule.
ESSAY IN DEFLECTION
The UPA-led Congress, the Left and the Samajawadi Party have persistently been clamouring for that. The allies of the BJP-led NDA are not siding with their leader. They are keeping quiet. But their silence is too eloquent. The BJP is, as usual, trying hard to confuse the issue and pull the Gujarat outrage out of focus, demanding probes into all encounter killings in Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, North-East and the Naxalite affected areas. But this essay in deflection has not succeeded in painting the ever-fading lotus pink.
Before proceeding further, it has to be noted that word “encounter” is extra judicial. Its over-use and misuse gives unjustified margin to the killers-in-uniform.
In the meantime, skeletons, buried fathoms deep 13 years ago, have started tumbling out of the cupboards in some affected States, like Punjab, where about 100 sad cases are already under the CBI scanner.
The Gujarat government has, two weeks ago, admitted in the apex court that the ATS officials had, with assistance from the Rajasthan police, faked the encounter killing of Soharabuddin Sheikh after branding him a Lashkar-e-Toyeba terrorist, plotting to kill the Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on 26 November, 2005. Later on as the Gujarat dispensation admitted, the ATS officials killed his wife Kausrbi also and burnt her body. The sole witness to Sheikh’s encounter killing was Mr. Tulsiram Prajapati who was also killed in December last year, days after Ms Johri’s report indicting the Gujarat ATS was submitted, to “scuttle the inquiry and destroy the material evidence”.
NO TENSION AT ALL
But despite these clear-cut submissions, made with a view to evading the CBI inquiry, one does not see any trace of stress or tension on the face of the involved. Have you, on TV screen, minutely observed the body-language of Mr. Narendra Modi and his cohorts Mr. D.G. Vanzara, Mr. Raj Kumar Pandian and Mr. Dinesh M.N.? Do they seem to be disturbed, unhinged or anguished?
The model Chief Minister of Hindutva appears to be quite self-assured and confident. Does his studied composure not say something? The suspended IPS officers have been caught on camera smiling and also, perhaps exchanging pleasantries with each other. Did their sadistic, unconcealed pleasure – not reveal anything to you? Their composure coupled with smiles hints at their confidence in their capacity to turn the tables on their critics.
Till date the state C.I.D., which is probing the “why and what” of the murders of Sohrabuddin, his wife and Prajapati, has not been able to come out with any concrete documentary proof or confession on the part of the high profile criminals. The accused have their patrons not only in the Police Department, but also in the State as well as in the Saffron fraternity as a whole. Their supporters have organised public demonstrations in front of the Court, which is hearing their case and their brethren-in-profession, represented by the Gujarat IPS Officers Association, have extended their support to them and their “beleaguered” families.
How beleaguered, for example, is Mr. Vanzera’s family can be imagined from the fact that the value of his property runs into Rs. 150 crore! Wherefrom did he earn this Rs. 150 crore is a totally different matter.
It appears as if we live in the age of cheating, dishonesty and, above all, brazenness.
CREDIBILITY QUOTIENT
The truth is that the state CIDs rarely come out with what they are expected to. Perhaps, they cannot. Their reliability quotient is always minimal. To quote a former Director of the C.B.I., Mr. R.K. Raghavan: “State C.I.Ds all over the country suffer from a total lack of credibility. Ruling parties have played such havoc with them that even if a CID does a piece of clinical and brilliant work, there is only grudging acknowledgement. Both political parties and pliant police officers have to blame for this.” (“The Hindu” May 7, 2007)
Had the frustrated Mr. Rubabuddin Sheikh not written a letter to the Supreme Court, which admirably, was treated as a letter petition, the serial Gujarat Police atrocities would not have come to public notice. The seriousness now being shown in the investigation by the state C.I.D. is, no doubt, praiseworthy. But why the same was not shown during the last more-than-a-year-and-half?
4 Out Of 11 Cases
Mr. Vanzara, they say, oversaw 19 encounter-killings. At least four are well documented: allegedly trained by Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami and Jaish-e-Mohammed, Samir Khan Pathan, 30, was killed on October 22, 2002. Says Pathan’s mother, Zenab Bibi: “Had my son been a terrorist, we would have had a swanky bungalow instead of a one-room dwelling.” Ishrat Jehan, 19, was liquidated with three others at Naroda on June 15, 2004. According to police, they were in Gujarat to assassinate Mr. Narendra Modi. Earlier on June 13, 2003, Sadiq Jamal, accused of having connections with Lashkar-e-Toyeba, had plans to kill Mr. Modi, Mr. Advani, and Mr. Togadia. Sadiq had three bullet injuries in his head and four in the chest. The reports are silent on injuries caused by all the terrorists to police.
Mr. Vikram Rautela’s story in the “Indian Express” (May 6, 2007) adds a new light to Jamal’s murder. To quote him: “six months later, a Mumbai-based journalist, Ketan Tirodkar, filed a complaint before a special court in Mumbai, claiming that Jamal was shot in a fake police encounter. He alleged that Mumbai police sub-inspector Daya Nayak had handed over Jamal to the Gujarat Police on January 11, 2003 to oblige the Gujarat politicians. Two days later, Jamal was dead.” Mumbai based Ganesh Khunte and Mahendra Jadhav were gunned down by DCB at the Panchkuva area of Ahmedabad early on June 23, 2002.
VICTIMS GIFTED?
Look! How deftly, ingeniously our guardians of national security play their games. They can even “gift” their Muslim victims to each other – just to oblige each other.
Following the ballyhoo raised by the Rajasthan marble-lobby over the arrest of an IPS Officer of their BJP-ruled state, it was suggested between-the-lines that the slain person was not a gentleman and had caused problems for the said lobby. It was in this context that the Rajasthan IPS Officer was arrested with the killer IPS Officers of Gujarat.
Can we now infer that the assassination of Sohrabuddin was a result of “contact killing” also known “supari” in the Mumbai dialect? If our inference is not wide off the mark, it means our Saffron-hued police officers do and can indulge in this indefensible variety of killings also. Does it not mean that the wealthy can now hire the services of our men-in-uniform? Till now Police was infamous for being used by the musclemen, bribe-taking and inefficiency. Now words “dehumanization” and “criminalization” too seem to have been added to their cap.
POLICE USE
When the police or other paramilitary forces allow themselves to be used by politicians, the rich or the mighty, it ultimately blurs the fine line between barbarity and civilization, that gives legitimacy to the state. The fine line between barbarity and civilization was erased off by the Gujarat police officers and their rogue subordinates. Till date nobody has claimed Kausarbi was a partner in her husband’s alleged crimes. Her only crime was that she was a witness to her husband’s murder. Similarly, the crime of Tulasiram Prajapati was that, after Kausarbi’s liquidation, he was the only material, surviving witness to the assassination of Sohrabuddin Sheikh.
“SINISTER PLAN” OR PLOT?
In the meantime, twice, have two front-rank Congressmen drawn national attention towards, what they call a “sinister plan” according to which any saffron hired, misguided Muslim is likely to kill the prime accused Mr. Vanzara, which as a consequence, would trigger Hindu-Muslim riots just before the Assembly Election in the state. These disturbances would once again catapult Mr. Modi to power.
FAKE BEARDS
If such a plot really exists, we feel why hire a “misguided” Muslim? Has not earlier a successful experiment been made into using fake beards, shalwar-qameez and skull caps from a VHP activist’s house in Nanded, being used for the manufacturing of bombs?
Can the Central Government really do something to ensure safety of the accused, his accomplices and witnesses? The Prime Minister is every inch a gentleman, morally upright and honest to the core. But he lacks the killing instinct. He does not know how to sniff off a foe politically. India needs a Head of the Government, who has spine, teeth and claws. We feel so because the Prime Minister has to deal – not with ordinary – but quite extraordinary political foes who have the guts to outfox him in his own den.
FRANKENSTEIN
Behind Mr. Modi’s calm exterior there is a hydra-headed Frankenstein, who knows how to conceal shock after outrage and transform setback into success. According to sources close to him, he proposes to use the Sohrabuddin issue to garner votes. To quote a BJP functionary: “Five crore Gujaratis will soon know the truth. And the truth is that Sohrabuddin was a Muslim. He was a terrorist. The people will applaud Narendra Modi and his government for taking such a strong stand against criminals and terrorists.”
Following the countrywide anger, a dargah, as a warming has already been desecrated in the Behrampura area of Ahmedabad by the so-called “patriotic” Hindus. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal have organized special demonstrations in favour of Mr. Vanzara, proclaiming that “Hanumanji” is with Vanzara to “protect him from pseudo-secularists.”
A BJP MLA says: Mr. Modi is smart. He knows how to turn adversity into advantage. The Sohrabuddin story is a jackpot to us.” The BJP source claimed: “We are not bothered about who goes to jail or whether there is a CBI inquiry or a commission headed by a Supreme Court judge. This issue is going to consolidate us in Gujarat.”
LAST QUESTION
Now you can innocently ask why on earth a BJP brand Muslim, which is a rarity, was liquidated at all?
The crisp and cogent answer is: The diseased knew too much about the Saffron machinations. He had observed certain things from close quarters. This knowledge plus his links with the under-world had turned him into a dangerous person, who could, anytime, spill the beans. In his utter simplicity, he had also dropped hints of his information. This had, presumably, necessitated his elimination.