Ishrat Jahan's mother feels 'hopeless', says won't attend case proceedings
Ahmedabad, Oct 2: Shamima Kausar, the mother of Ishrat Jahan who was killed in an alleged fake encounter by the Gujarat Police, on Tuesday told a special CBI court here that she can no longer attend the case proceedings as she feels "hopeless and helpless" after a prolonged fight for justice.
Special CBI court Judge R K Chudawala is hearing the discharge applications filed by four accused policemen, including Inspector General of Police G L Singhal, former DSP Tarun Barot, ex-DySP J G Parmar, and assistant sub-inspector Anaju Chaudhary.
"I am heartbroken, my spirit shattered, as the perpetuation of this culture of impunity," Kausar said in a letter filed before Judge Chudawala's court.
Kausar said she was distancing herself from the court proceedings and calling upon the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to secure the conviction of the accused persons.
"After this prolonged fight for justice, I now feel hopeless and helpless. More than 15 years have passed, all the accused, including police officials, are on bail. Some of them were reinstated by the Gujarat government even as they faced prosecution for the murder of my daughter. After 15 years, the trial has barely begun," she said.
Kausar claimed that her daughter was innocent and killed as a result of a "horrific criminal conspiracy and design because she was a Muslim woman, and it served political interest to project her as a dreaded terrorist".
"I have instructed my counsel, advocate Vrinda Grover, that presently I have lost my will to fight, and can no longer participate in the proceedings before the CBI court. The long drawn and labyrinthine judicial process has exhausted and frustrated me," she said.
Kausar said in her struggle for justice for her daughter, she found herself "seeking the prosecution and punishment of some very powerful police officers of Gujarat, who were in service and enjoyed the patronage of the state".
"This culture of impunity needs to be eradicated to protect the lives of many vulnerable innocent citizens. This cannot be my battle alone. It is now up to the CBI to see that the guilty are prosecuted and punished," she said.
"I call upon the CBI to secure the conviction of the accused police officers and other guilty persons. The need for transparency, accountability, and an end to impunity by men in uniform has never been more," she said.
Kausar asserted that the "cold blooded murder" of her daughter was "falsely and maliciously projected as an encounter killing and she was maliciously branded as terrorist".
The four accused -- Singhal, Barot, Parmar and Anaju Chaudhary -- have sought discharge from the case on ground of parity with other three police officers, D G Vanzara, N K Amin, and former director general of police P P Pandey, who were earlier discharged by the court, among other grounds.
Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year-old woman from Mumbra township near Mumbai, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed by the Gujarat Police in an alleged fake encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.
The police claimed that they had links with LeT terrorists.
The CBI filed a charge sheet against seven people in August 2013, and a supplementary charge sheet against four more persons in February 2014.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Stalin accuses Centre of trying to use women's quota as 'weapon,' slams EPS over delimitation
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has strongly criticised the Centre over the women's reservation and accused it of trying to use it as a "weapon" to tackle the opposition before taking up the delimitation exercise based on population.
"The Union government is not concerned about implementing reservations for women. If their concerns were genuine, they could have done it right away. Rather than doing that, the BJP-led Centre is thinking of using it as a weapon to tackle opposition and take up the delimitation exercise based on population," he told PTI in an interview.
"Hence, the women's reservation must be implemented immediately without showing delimitation as a reason," the DMK president added.
Expressing apprehensions on the proposed delimitation exercise, the CM said it was the DMK that raised the first voice asserting the rights of the state after realising that Tamil Nadu would be affected by the proposed exercise. He also attacked his rival and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami over the delimitation issue.
Recalling efforts made by the DMK to raise the issue of population-based delimitation, he said an all-party meeting and a meeting of CMs under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee seeking fair delimitation were convened. It sought to freeze delimitation for 25 years and stick to it based on the 1971 Census population.
"We urged the union government that states which successfully implemented population control programmes must not be punished," he added.
The party came up with "Tamil Nadu poradum, Tamil Nadu vellum" (Tamil Nadu will struggle, Tamil Nadu will win) and this is DMK's stand, he said.
"However, Palaniswami, who is seeking votes for the entry of the BJP through the backdoor, has till date been mute over delimitation, and this is a betrayal of the people of Tamil Nadu."
