Have you ever wondered why the news reports in India always put the word "encounter" within quotes? Because they are never sure if it was a real "encounter". In principle, an encounter is supposed to be a clash between the police or security forces and criminals or terrorists who were either in the official's custody or were escaping or were being captured. The result of a reported encounter is almost always death of the criminals, sometimes along with the injury or (in rare cases) death of the police officials too.
Our police or security forces are our protectors and usually fight (sometimes until their death) to safeguard public lives and properties. They nab all the bad elements, keep them behind the bars, and often see to it (in collaboration with the judiciary) that they are punished for the crimes they have committed. The police and security forces sacrifice their lives to ensure that we remain safe, and all Indians should be grateful for their selfless duty. These heroes are also often rewarded with medals for the work of valour they do.
However, as we have seen in the recent years, the public announcement or the news of an incident of police bravery becomes as important as the act itself. An incident of arresting or killing of a criminal or terrorist not only brings laurels to a police/security officer, but also plays several political roles in the larger public arena. Our parliamentary govt. system is such that the political parties are always looking for ways to appease their voters. For instance, after any major incident of crime or terrorism, when everyone is highly terrorized or feeling insecure, the public has to be pacified by telling them "don't worry, your govt. is there to protect you... we are going to arrest and hang the person who did this horrible act... be patient and worry-free. Don't forget to vote us in the next elections, because we are your protectors".
The best way to send this message across is to actually nab and kill a few criminals or terrorists, display them on the street, and announce that "See, we did it... your brave govt. has killed the beast. You can sleep easy now". This is such an effective method to cool down the public euphoria that always arises after a horrible incident. But as we have seen again and again, many of such deaths are actually staged murders. We are not saying that all such people killed in the encounters are innocent. No, they may be criminals or suspected terrorists. But they certainly die without their roles being investigated or their cases being brought to the courts. They are simply political scapegoats. In some cases, we have evidence to proof that a higher authority ordered their subordinates to kill a certain person for their personal gains. And at least in one recent case (given below) the subordinate is being punished for not following his superior's order of "bumping off" a few terrorists.Besides being killed, thousands of young innocent people are simply arrested on flimsy grounds and left to rot in the prisons. In only a few such cases, when police finds no proofs against their involvement, they are released. One can find such cases almost after every terrorist attack (see the recent news from Pune, Gujarat, Delhi, UP, Bihar etc.).
A lot can be written (and has been written) about these issue, but here we are trying to give a few links to such write-ups or simply news items that show how a majority of "encounter deaths" turned out to be fake. The question is, how long will this continue? Can something be done about this by ordinary citizens? How can we raise a voice against this?Some links (these are just a few news items - you can find many more if you search for them). The creator of this blog has not invented these stories - these are from the established News agencies and Human Rights organizations:
Fake Encounters: The Indian State’s Only Response to Political Dissent?
PUCL, June 2007
India's 'fake encounter' laboratory?
D.P. Bhattacharya (Ahmedabad, September 9, 2009) Mail Today
The political reality of fake encounters
AJAY SINGH | JUNE 10 2010
'Ketchup Colonel' runs from pillar to post to prove innonence
Kingshuk Nag, TNN, Jul 1, 2010 (The Times of India)
The fake encounter killing of Abdul Rehman; encounter killings threaten the security of all Indians (February 2, 2007), A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
Ishrat Jahan encounter was fake: Magisterial probe
8 September 2009
Shocking Fake Encounter (Nita)
May 2, 2007
Fake encounter: Sohrabuddin didn't fire at all, says forensic report
TNN, May 29, 2010
Ishrat fake encounter case: IB inputs were 'manufactured' in Gujarat
TNN, Jun 22, 2010
Encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma held for 'fake encounter'
PTI, Jan 8, 2010
MBA student killed in 'fake' encounter bore torture marks
PTI, Jul 5, 2009
Cops attacked over ‘fake encounter’
Pragya Kaushika (Indian Express) Mar 05, 2009
Another fake encounter?
TNN, Jan 23, 2010 (Lucknow)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Tehelka)
6 commandos suspended for Manipur ‘fake encounter’
K Sarojkumar Sharma, TNN, Aug 6, 2009
Fake encounters a result of anti-Muslim bias?
CNN-IBN Sep 09, 2009
Police official held in fake encounter case
TNN, Jan 15, 2003
Indian Fake Encounters to Boost Hindutva Image
Gujarat Fake Encounters: Political Undertones
October 06, 2009
Dehradun 'encounter': NHRC wants CBI probe
TNN, Jul 7, 2009
Uttar Pradesh is top fake encounter specialist in India
26 March 2010
D.G. Vanzara and the Culture of Fake Encounters: A Rapid Appraisal
K S Subramanium
The Business of 'Fake' Encounters
FEBRUARY 05, 2007
India’s Fake Encounters and Spurious Dossiers
27 September 2009
Fake encounters in Gandhi's India
Killing of Sikhs in fake encounters By Indian Forces
Fake Police Encounters
By Poonam I Kaushish
"Encounter was a policy in Gujarat": Ex-DGP Sreekumar
Indian Express
'Encounter' at Batla House: Unanswered Questions
SPO held for kidnapping 2 Kashmir youth for fake encounter
Peerzada Ashiq, Hindustan Times
Fake Encounter at Kodaikanal Forest Area and Illegal Detentions
No one will be spared in fake encounters in Kashmir: Antony
NHRC lists Batla House as fake encounter
26 March 2010
Fake encounters on rise in India, says NHRC
No mention of Kashmir (UNITED NEWS OF INDIA)
UP to probe fake encounter case
M.Hasan, 16 Aug. 2007
Gujarat Fake Encounters: The Spin Doctoring has Begun
Shuddhabrata Sengupta | May 6, 2007
’Encounter Killings’ and the Question of Justice in India
Sunday 6 September 2009, by Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations (CDRO)
Veerappan encounter was fake: Rights activists
January 20, 2005
Veerappan killed in fake encounter: activists
MCOCA Madness: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Tehelka exposes the misuse of draconian MCOCA law
Fake justice: “Encounter killing” is a pan-Indian phenomenon and an easy way out for men in uniform (Frontline)
Fake Encounters - The Real Truth
Suresh Naig, September 28, 2008
Encounter murders: From Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat to the forests of Dantewara
(by Bernard De Mello, MRZine. Sept 2009)
Rights Groups Probe India's Shoot-Out Cops
By Madhur Singh/New Delhi, TIME magazine
CPI (Maoist) PB Member Azad Killed in fake encounter
The problem of 'encounter deaths' in India
Kavkaz Center, 21 June 2007
Quantifying India's Encounter Deaths and Disappearances
SAJA FORUM
Increasing rate of custodial deaths in India
Thoughts of an ordinary man
The Real Fake Encounter: When Media and Politicians Evade Reality
by Rajinder Puri
Murder by encounter
by Praful Bidwai
On Encounter Deaths
(Something about the law)
Every second police encounter in India is fake
Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net
Violent Deaths and Enforced Disappearances During the Counterinsurgency in Punjab, India
A Preliminary Quantitative Analysis
Manipur rocked by six ‘fake encounter’ deaths
12 September 2009
Dombivli encounter deaths get curiouser
Ranjit Khomne, TNN, Mar 23, 2002
Uttar Pradesh - Police Brutality Unchecked
Human Rights Documentation Centre
BURIED EVIDENCE: Unknown, Unmarked, and Mass Graves in Indian-administered Kashmir
http://www.kashmirprocess.org/reports/graves/
On Cases of Encounter Deaths
National Human Rights Commission Report, March 29, 1997
‘Encounter culture’ and accountability of police
By Pushkar Raj and Shobha Sharma (PUCL)
'Encounter conspiracy hatched in Modi's house'
Indian Express
J&K: fake encounters: Tales From The Crypt
Outlook magazine
Shahzad’s Arrest and Goebbels’ Lies
(Batla House Encounter)
Inquiry into Custodial Death of Varkala Vijayan
CUSTODIAL DEATHS- BANE OF JUSTICE
Dr.Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University
Bombay's crack 'encounter' police
BBC News
TORTURE CHAMBERS IN INDIA
By Nagaraj MYSORE RAGHUPATHI
Why Do the Police Use Deadly Force?: Explaining Police Encounters in Mumbai
Jyoti Belur (Social Science Research Network)
POLICE/CUSTODIAL DEATHS/TORTURE- 2008
Indian Social Institute, New Delhi
How many more innocent Muslims will die in fake encounters?
Very political crimes in Bombay (150 encounter deaths in 3 years)
Le Monde diplomatique
Madurai encounter drama enacted by police: Rights-activists
Can India Reform Its Wayward Police Force?
By Madhur Singh, TIME Magazine
Noida encounter: Many loopholes in police theory
The Times of India, Jan 27, 2009
So why is Narendra Modi protecting Amit Shah?
Tehelka expose
Sohrabuddin case: CBI to arrest key aide of Narendra Modi
The Times of India
Encountered on Saffron Agenda: A documentary film on staged encounter killings in Gujarat
(See video)
Documentary on fake encounters in Gujarat: Its Jaipur screening stopped by police
The Hindu
Batla House ‘Encounter’: Who is the JP Trauma Centre Shielding? Stop withholding the Truth ! Release all Information NOW! (Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association)
Three policemen get life term for fake encounter killings
The Hindu
Colonel, Major chargesheeted in Machil encounter case
The Times of India
Rs. 4-lakh solatium for fake encounter
UNESCO Condemns Yet Another Killing of Indian Journalist
(Hem Chandra Pande killed in "Maoist" encounter)
Court Confirms AR killing man in fake encounter
Hueiyen Lanpao
Alleged fake encounter: Inspector seeks bail
‘Colonel doesn’t have to obey order to stage fake encounter’
The Asian Age
UP cops top in fake encounter for promotion
Rajat Rai (India Today)
Youtube clips on fake encounter in India
(Hundreds of videos)
"At times, encounters are unavoidable"
Indian Express
Gujarat's Home Minister Missing?
CBI sends teams to locate Amit Shah after he fails to appear
The Times of India
Fake Encounters in Jharkhand
« Indian Vanguard
Karkare killing: Bombay HC issues notice to Centre, state
Encounter menace
Frontline
231 more fake encounters unearthed
Global Sikh News
Should fake encounters be legalised?
Why fake encounters kill growth
TK Arun
Azad Encounter: Death by an Inch... Lies by the Mile
(Outlook magazine)
Maoist leader Azad shot at point-blank range, claims report
THE NEXT YOU WILL HEAR: CREATOR OF THIS BLOG HAS BEEN "ENCOUNTERED".
Please raise your voice against staged-killings. Write to the Home Ministry and the Police department of your state/city. Request them to stop killing people without trial.
Also see our related blog: Hindutva Terror in India (hindutvaterror.blogspot.com)
