The Centre should compensate all the innocent who were killed in the two encounters between the Central Reserve Police and Maoists in Chhattisgarh on June 27, said National Secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Ejaz Ahmad Aslam.
Nineteen persons, accused of being Maoists, were killed by the CRPF personnel on June 27. Activists said the most of those killed were innocent.
Releasing a Kannada handbook on Human Rights here on Monday, Mr. Aslam criticised Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram for being only “deeply sorry” over the deaths of innocents in the two encounters. “Among those killed in the encounters included two teenage girls. Being deeply sorry will not help matters. The Centre should give full compensation to families of all the innocent people killed in the encounters,” he said.
Mr. Aslam said every person had a right to life and it was for society and the Government to protect life of an innocent person.
Quoting instances of blatant violation of human rights, Mr. Aslam said: “Many Muslims are suffering … innocent young Muslims are being treated like terrorists.” He said “full justice” had not been done to the victims of 2002 riots in Gujarat.
Expressing the need for every person to raise voice against human rights violation, Mr. Aslam said: “If human rights are not protected, you might be one of the victims.”
Principal of SDM Law College B.K. Ravindra said there was a need to create awareness about the human rights as there were a number of people who were still unaware about rights they enjoyed.
It was for people to insist on the Government to enforce human rights.
Activist Natesh Ullal said the Kannada booklet on human rights contained all the information that a person should know. Such a booklet should be in every house and at every police station. The author of the booklet and activist Suresh Bhat Bakrabailu said tribal people and people belonging to backward classes continued to be ill-treated. He condemned the glorification of crime and police encounters in the media.
