This refers to the thought-provoking editorial “Gujarat's close encounters” (Nov. 24). The conclusion of the Special investigation Team appointed by the Gujarat High Court, that Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed in cold blood, has shaken people's faith in Gujarat's police machinery. No elected government can endorse a mob justice system, in which the accused is presumed guilty by the mob and lynched. It is time the Narendra Modi government realised the damage it has done to civilised society by shielding the criminals in uniform. The Ishrat Jahan case has reiterated the need to observe the due process of law under all circumstances.
It is now important to ascertain the motive behind the murder. Although trial and punishment in the case cannot bring back the dead, they will send a strong signal and enhance the common man's faith in the justice system.
A.S. Farida,
Chennai
The law does not give the state the right to a kill a person without a judicial process. We have a criminal justice system that puts a criminal on trial and determines the quantum of punishment. The government — and the police — are agents of the state and help maintain law and order. How can the police assume the power to kill anyone, including a criminal?
Unfortunately, in many instances, “encounters” take place in the name of “patriotism,” curbing extremism or protecting political leaders (as in the case of Ishrat Jahan and others). Only rights activists have been raising their voice against this heinous activity all these years. It is time all right-thinking people joined them.
Md. Younus,
Hyderabad
The difficulty in obtaining timely convictions and the pressure to solve cases are the reasons behind staged encounters. Government-funded bounties, medals, praise and the sobriquet “encounter specialist” boost trigger-happy policemen. They begin to believe that they are beyond the reach of law. Police encounters should not be tolerated and officials involved in committing them should be made to face the full force of the law.
K. Suresh Babu,
Tiruchi
Gujarat seems to have become notorious for “fake encounters” and, sadly, the minorities are the victims in most instances. The thinking that the investigation of Ishrat Jahan's encounter can be handed over to a Central agency is one among the several positive steps taken by the judiciary to prevent extra-judicial killings and to preserve the principles of the criminal justice system.
M.A. Hakeem,
Hyderabad
Police encounters are perhaps the last resort in a battle against organised crime. But that doesn't give the police a licence to kill.
The Batla House encounter in which two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists were killed in 2008 is shrouded in controversy because there was no transparency. There are many unanswered questions. There should be some regulation when the police undertake an operation to kill alleged terrorists.
Salman Ghani,
New Delhi
Fake police encounters take place in all States. About a decade ago, newspapers in Mumbai carried the news of encounter deaths almost every day. Vijay Salaskar, who died in the 26/11 attack, was also an “encounter specialist.”
Police encounters helped curb terrorism in Punjab and organised crime in Mumbai. Whether they are acceptable in a civil society is another question.
Anand Sriram & Swati Sriram,
Mumbai
According to some media reports, Ram Jethmalani has argued that in the war against terrorism as in Punjab, many people, including innocent people, died but the situation was brought under control. The former Union Home Secretary, G.K. Pillai, has said that the fact that Ishrat Jahan was killed in a fake encounter does not mean she was innocent.
Does this not point to deep-rooted communal profiling? Are we rationalising heinous acts of murder that contravene the norms of the criminal justice system?
Kasim Sait,
Chennai
