The Hindu : Holes in Dec. 13 attack case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 10, 2002

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National

Holes in Dec. 13 attack case

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI OCT. 9. The tapped telephone conversations on which part of the Government's December 13 attack case rests appeared to unravel today with two independent translations of the tape raising questions on the veracity of the prosecution's version and the quality of investigation into the high-profile terror attack.

Police have claimed that a conversation in Kashmiri between one of the accused, S.A.R. Geelani, and his younger brother, Shah Faisal, on December 14 was about the former's role in the attack. This is the main piece of prosecution evidence against Mr. Geelani. The translation they placed as evidence has Mr. Faisal asking his brother, "What is this you have done in Delhi?'' to which the reply was ``This was necessary''.

Mr. Geelani's defence counsel, Seema Gulati, argued today that this was a misrepresentation of the conversation. Two independent transcripts and translations of the tape by the film-maker, Sanjay Kak, and the president of the All-Jammu and Kashmir State Government Employees Federation, Sampat Prakash, were heard in court. Both suggested that the police version was not corroborated by the taped conversation. In the translations, at the fag end of the two-and-a-half minute conversation in which the syllabus and prospectus (for a university course) are discussed, Mr. Faisal asks his brother "What has happened?'' To which the reply is "What in Delhi?'' Mr. Faisal asks again, "What happened in Delhi ?'' at which point Mr. Geelani laughs and his brother says "You just take it easy'' "Relax now''. During questioning, both Mr. Kak and Mr. Prakash said anyone familiar with spoken Kashmiri would know that the sentence "What has happened (yeh kya korua)'' heard on the tape is used in circumstances as ordinary as "when a child spills a glass of milk'' or when commenting on "heavy snowfall in the Banihal Pass'' "It is used several times a day in ordinary conversation.'' Mr. Geelani has said that the conversation referred to a quarrel between him and his wife.

The tape was heard in court for the first time today, almost four months after the trial began. Today's proceedings focused attention on the lacunae in the police investigation. Their translation in Hindi was commissioned by sub-inspector Harinder Singh from Mr. Rashid, a 34-year-old employed at Azadpur Market in New Delhi. Mr. Rashid, during his cross-examination in June had told the court that he could not write Hindi and was "5th or 6th standard pass''. He had listened to the tape and his oral translation was written down by Harinder Singh in Hindi.

During cross-examination, investigating officers of the Special Cell of Delhi Police were asked if they had considered having a transcription and translation done by a senior serving or retired Kashmiri police officer or at least having the translation confirmed. They said they had not. In fact, the only transcripts of the actual taped conversation in Kashmiri were the ones made by Mr. Kak and Mr. Prakash.

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