Jamia shootout: Inquiry by SC judge sought

Not everybody is convinced about the September 19 Jamia encounter. Civil society groups, in particular, are punching holes in the police theory. A team of Janhastakshep Campaign Against Fascist Designs and People’s Union for Democratic rights (PUDR), which visited Batla House two days after the encounter, has demanded an independent, time-bound comprehensive probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the incident. Briefing the media on Friday, Prashant Bhushan, senior SC advocate and part of the six-member team, said: ‘‘The police theory has many holes. It’s very clear that the special cell was not sure if the occupants of L-18 were terrorists but just hours after the operation they branded them as IM masterminds responsible for the recent blasts.’’ Expressing deep concern over the media’s handling of the issue, Bhushan added: ‘‘Unless things are proved, media should behave in a responsible way and should not tarnish the image of any innocent.’’ Shahana Bhattacharya, who represented PUDR, said: ‘‘The issue seems to be very mysterious and our interim findings clearly suggest that there is an immediate requirement of an independent inquiry.’’ Clearing doubts that the team was no way putting a question mark on the validity of the encounter, Shahana added: ‘‘We are no one to decide what is right and what’s not, but all that our team has found only suggests that the degree of transparency is bare minimum.’’ The team is also planning to bring out a detailed report of their findings next week. SEEKING ANSWERS How could special cell confirm within a few hours that those killed were militants? How could two persons escape from the house as reported by the police considering that there was no escape route save one? Lack of legal representation for those arrested No FIR on the incident. Why police has not carried out a test identification parade by eyewitnesses who claim to have seen those responsible for the blasts?

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