#Demand#justice#Ishrat Don’t see it as Muslim issue,we are victims, treat us as one: Ishrat’s family By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net, New Delhi: Invoking the civil society memebrs and media persons Ishrat Jahan’s family today urged them to refrain fromgiving their sturggle for justice political colour or to see it as merely a ‘Muslim issue’. “Ishrat was innocent and we are the victims, ” was the common refrain family members of Ishrat Jahan made while addressing themedia on Saturday evening. Several civil society groups, udnerthe banner of Justice for Ishrat Jahan Now, organised a public meeting, cultural evening and candle night vigil at the Constituion Club here in the national capital.The Ishrat Jahan ‘encounter’ tookplace on 15 June 2004, and involved ‘encounter’ killings of four people with alleged links to terrorists on an empty road stretch between Ahmedabad andGandhinagar in Gujarat. Earlier Justice Tamang report in 2009 had held that the encounter was fake; and now even the CBI has filed charge-sheet against police officers involved. The fake encounter was done in collusion with the Gujarat police and IB officials. Musharrat Jahan, sister of Ishrat pleaded to media, “Our father had died and even at the young age of 19, she was maanaging her college studies, and was earning for the family. When some acquitance introduced Ishrat to Javed Sheikh, we had noilking about his business.” It wasa temporary job she had joined during the summer vacations. Shamima Kausar, mother of Ishrat, said that right from day one she has beleived that her daugther was innocent and that she is hopeful that one day she will get justice.Family members of Ishrat Jahan also narrated the harrowing expereinces in past nine years and how even today they are harrased and threatened. Senior lawyer Vrinda Grover, whois fighting Ishrat case, condemned the ‘planted stories’ and noted that how media persons are casting aspersions on the cahracter of a ninteen year old “innocent college going girl who was abducted, confined and murdered” in cold blood by senior police officials. On the question of Home Minstiry’s earlier affidavit that had called Ishrat a ‘terrorist’ on the account that she was travelling with two alleged terrorsits; she celared that the CBI charge-sheet clearly says that Ishrat was not with them, but was abducted from a differnt place, kept in confinement for few days and brought on that spot only to be killed in cold blood.She lamented that for want of proper evidence and defence, theIndian state and the media is now relying on the alleged note on the website of the terrorist organsiation Lashkar e Taiba andthe alleged conffesion of Davild Headly.In a seprate statement the civil society memebers have questioned the Home Minsitry’s silence on the alleged statement. Shabnam Hashmi of ANHAD, who was mdoerating the whole session demanded from the MHA to come clear on the Headly statement.Earlier, CPIM Politburo member and Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat,while expressing solidarity with Ishrat’s family, condemned the sereis of fake encounters done. She said,“People these days talk of Modi model of governnance. Ishrat’s case is a bloody example of Modi model of governance.” Shoma Chaudhury, Managing Editor of the weekly magazine Tehelka, added that her magazine, and a section of mediais being accused of ‘fake’ rage against a particular leader and Gujarat; but the fact is that in that state we see a pattern of fake encounters, beginning with Sadiq Jamal to Sohrabuddin and Ishrat. “These cases were unconstituional and were part ofa larger conspiracy, where same set of police officers were involved” in all these cases. She emphaised that it was only after media coverage that such incidents have stopped.Manisha Sethi, Prsident of the Jamia Teachers’ Soldiary Association, Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy of JNU, CPI(ML) Central Committee memeber Kavita Krishnan, JNUSU president Lenin, social worker Harsh Mander, among others also spoke on the occasion. Besdies, Urdu poet and social activist Gauhar Raza, Planning Commission member Syeda Saiyidain Hameed, writer and Daastango Mahmood Farooqui and his colleague Danish Raza read out petries in Ishrat’s memory. Sumit Bose sang a songin her memory.Large number of media persons and civil society memebrs had turned up for the event. Before the programme could begin, some Hindu extremist activists had gathered in the hall and chanted slogans against those participating in the cultural evening, for ‘siding with a terrorist’and thus acting ‘against the interest of the nation.’
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 06:21:47 +0000
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