Gujarat Encounters : Justice Bedi Finds Foul Play In 3 Cases; Recommends Action Against 9 Cops [Read Report]

There is prima facie evidence of foul play in three out of seventeen cases of encounter killings in Gujarat which took place between 2002 to 2007, states the report filed by Justice(Retd) H S Bedi in the Supreme Court. He has recommended prosecution of nine police officers involved in the cases.It was on March 2, 2012 that the Supreme Court appointed Justice Bedi, a former SC judge, as Chairman of the Monitoring Committee to monitor the investigation carried out by the Special Task Force(STF) constituted by the Gujarat government to investigate the cases of custodial deaths. The report is only regarding the 17 cases which were specifically referred to STF.The SC intervention came in the petitions filed by journalist B G Verghese(since expired), poet-lyricist Javed Akhthar and social worker Shabnam Hashmi, who alleged that the police encounters were fake and stage-managed.Justice Bedi submitted his report in the Court in sealed cover on February 26, 2018.Earlier this week, on January 9, the CJI-led bench of the SC ordered to make the report public, overruling the objections of Gujarat government. Live Law has accessed a copy of the report, which recommends prosecution of officers involved in the custodial deaths of Kasam Jafar, Haji Haji Ismail and Sameer Khan. Justice Bedi has also ordered grant of compensation to the next of kin of the deceased.Sameer KhanThe most striking case is that of Sameer Khan, who was in his twenties when he was killed in an encounter. As per police version, he was a terrorist, who had come to Gujarat to assassinate the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.According to his father Sarfaraz Khan, Sameer Khan was a rickshaw-puller. The police account is as follows : Sameer Khan had allegedly absconded after stabbing a police constable in 1996 in relation to a chain snatching case. He got later involved with terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed, and managed to go to Pakistan on a fake passport. He returned to Gujarat,with an alleged plan to assassinate Narendra Modi, the then CM of Gujarat. But he was arrested by police at Ahmadabad on September 30,2002. After his arrest, he was taken to the site, where he had allegedly stabbed the constable in 1996, for investigation of that crime. There he managed to get out of his handcuffs, and snatched a revolver from Inspector K M Vaghela and opened fire. When police returned fire in defence, he got killed. This incident occurred on October 22, 2002.Justice Bedi rejected the police account wholly. He found it hard to believe that a "dreaded terrorist", who was on an alleged mission to assassinate the CM, was handcuffed so loosely. "This appears to have been done deliberately so as to make out a plausible story to justify the killing", he said in the report. He also noted that the all Courts, including the Supreme Court, had disbelieved the theory of assassination plot against CM, and had discharged the other 15 men who were accused of being part of the conspiracy. Justice Bedi further rejected the police version that Sameer Khan had gone to Pakistan for training in terror outfit. The police claimed that Sameer had travelled to Pakistan in January 1998. But the passport on which was supposed to have travelled was issued only on 27 March 1998, that too in the name of one Nawab Khan. There was no record of any person by the name of Nawab Khan travelling to Pakistan on the said date. The bullet wounds in the dead body were also found to have blackened, suggesting that firing took place from a close range. He was shot at his chest and head. From a reconstruction of the crime scene, it appeared that the deceased and police officers were standing face to face. The bullet trajectory in the head injury suggested that firing was done in a top to bottom angle. "It is, therefore, obvious that the police officers were close and towering over the deceased and he was probably sitting on the ground and perhaps cringing for his life", the report said. It recommended that Inspector KM Vaghela and Inspector TA Barot should be prosecuted for murder and other relevant offences.Compensation of Rs.10 lakhs was ordered to be paid to the father of Sameer Khan. In this connection, it may be relevant to note that Vaghela was questioned by CBI in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, though not charge-sheeted. Barot is an accused in the alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan.Allegations against higher officialsSarfaraz Khan had made allegations against higher officials of Gujarat police for covering up the fake encounter. He relied on the revelations made by Thirth Raj, IG of Police, in a sting operation by Tehelka in 2007 that DSP Yadav had concluded that the incident was stage-manged, but was prevented from filing final report due to external political pressure. Thirth Raj further stated in the sting that records of the case were destroyed on instructions from the then Home Minister and DGP.Thirth Raj filed an affidavit disowning the statements made in the...

Gujarat Encounters : Justice Bedi Finds Foul Play In 3 Cases; Recommends Action Against 9 Cops [Read Report]

Manu Sebastian

The report has indicted only lower level police officials who were present at the spot of encounters.

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