The Central UPA and State Government are targeting educated Muslim youth for the bomb blasts in various big cities in the country. In this connection governments, police and intelligence agencies claim to possess sufficient evidence of involvement of such youth in ‘terrorist’ activities. After every such incident, on behalf of the police and government, full information about the alleged terrorists is being given via the media. This raises the question that despite such detailed information being available, what has the police system of the government been waiting for, rather than taking preventive action? On behalf of the government, Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) has been accused of being guilty for the bomb blasts in the past few years. The government has banned the SIMI under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Gita Mittal, justice of the Special Tribunal constituted under the above referred Act has raised difficult questions on the entire government propaganda. In her order running into 263 pages and ordering the removal of the ban on SIMI, Justice Gita Mittal has stated that the government has presented no evidence for proving the necessity of the ban even though the government was given opportunity for this many times by the Tribunal. The order has acknowledged that there is no evidence against any activist of SIMI being involved in terrorist activity. The order has exposed the hollowness of the claims of the government.

The Central Government appealed in the Supreme Court against this order. The Central Government says that a Cabinet note was presented before the Tribunal but it was not given due importance. Along with the statements of 77 senior officers of the I.B. and other intelligence agencies were given to the Tribunal. Even according to the government’s own claims, the central government could place no evidence before the Tribunal other than the Cabinet note and the statements of senior intelligence officers. According to the petition submitted before the Supreme Court by the Central Government, SIMI is an organization of Muslim students and youth which has been infiltrated by Muslim terrorist organizations of Jammu & Kashmir, like Hizbul Mujhaiddin and Lashkar–e-Tayyaba. After making such claims, the government distanced itself from the answerability of presenting any evidence against SIMI. Even the police of the BJP government of Rajasthan acknowledged before the government that it had no evidence of the involvement of SIMI in the bomb blasts in Jaipur on 13^th May 2008.

Jamia Encounter : Questions Raised by Janhastakshep and PUDR

(We are reproducing statement released on September 26, 2008 at a Press Conference addressed by activists of Janhastakshep and PUDR)

A fact finding team constituted by Janhastakshep-Campaign against Fascist Designs, and People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) went to look into the issues being raised in context to an alleged encounter at Batla House, Jamia Nagar on September 19, 2008.  Members of the team were : Dr. N.K. Bhattacharya (Jan Hastakshep), Shahana Bhattacharya (PUDR), Dr. Ish Misra (Jan Hastakhep), Prashant Bhusan, Advocate Supreme Court, Mr. N. D. Pancholi, Advocate, Delhi High Court, and Prof. Mir Imtiaz and Sreerekha, teachers in Jamia Milia Islamia.

Some of the findings of the Fact finding exercise undertaken on September 21, 2008

1.                  L-18 Batla house, the scene of the two ‘encounter’ killings of Atif and Sajid, is a four storied building with two flats on each floor and a single stairwell. There is only one entrance to the building. All the other spaces are grilled and cannot be used to get out of the building. The building is abutted on the left and right by two buildings which are only about two floors high. There is a narrow lane to the front and an even narrower lane at the back.

2.                  Documentary evidence proves that Atif had submitted his correct details to the police in a tenant verification form duly received by the police on August 21, 2008. The form is a printed form which has been countersigned and bears the seal of the Jamia Nagar police station. The form also has his correct mobile phone number.