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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Moreshwar Sathe was shot dead: eyewitnesses by Amruta Byatnal

Moreshwar Sathe was shot dead: eyewitnesses by Amruta Byatnal

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published Published on Aug 15, 2011   modified Modified on Aug 15, 2011

‘The first bullet was from the back, and then he was shot again'

Even as the police continue to claim that Moreshwar Sathe was not killed in a ‘fake encounter' in Tuesday's protests by farmers, two eyewitnesses told The Hindu on Friday that the police fired at him from a distance of just three feet.

Vasantrao Garade and Anil Tupe from this village revealed in vivid details the incidents before and after Sathe's death.

“He was taken away by the police. I saw him being taken to a jeep. Few minutes later, he was let off and as he was walking towards me, he was shot in the neck,” Mr. Garade said. “The first bullet was from the back, and then he was shot again,” he said. “I will say this in front of a judge if I need to,” he said.

Mr. Tupe also saw Sathe being taken away by the police after some farmers had objected to the detention of local leader Dnyaneshwar Dalvi. “The police first indulged in lathi charge and later took Moreshwar Sathe to the police jeep. Few minutes later he was brought out and was shot, in front of everybody,” Mr. Tupe said. “After Moreshwar, they held me but I escaped from their hands,” he said. “I ran away to the other side, when I was told my nephew Yogesh Tupe was shot in the back. I rushed to take him to the hospital,” he added. Anil Tupe's brother Shyam Tupe was killed in the police firing later in the day.

Village's struggle

With such revelations, the people of the village are convinced that the police were ordered to kill. “Moreshwar Sathe owned 8 guntha land [0.5 acres]. His land would not even be affected in the project. But he went to the protest to show solidarity to the cause. It was the village's struggle,” Mr. Garade said. “We are innocent people. This is an attempt to scare us and to make us leave our land so that the politicians can use it however they want,” Moreshwar's brother Kisan Sathe told The Hindu in his house on Friday. “Why else would four people be shot above the waist,” he asked.

On Thursday, Pune Superintendent of Police (Rural) Sandeep Karnik circulated video CDs in the media suggesting that Moreshwar Sathe was not killed in a fake encounter. Asked what exactly led to Moreshwar's death, Mr. Karnik said that the judicial inquiry would reveal the details.

The three video clips showed Moreshwar being caught by the police, then escaping, and then being present when the police jeep was being attacked by the protesters. However, Mr. Karnik could not ascertain that the clips shown were a part of a time-bound series as there was no mention of time in the videos. Asked why the media was being shown selective videos, he said: “The videos were not taken in a controlled arrangement. So it is difficult to have the entire episode on camera. But it is necessary to clear the allegations.”

He could not explain why the police had felt the necessity to shoot at the protesters. It was revealed that of the 10 who were injured in the firing, four had suffered wounds above the waist. “Every individual officer tried to control the situation with his own judgement. Whether it was right or wrong will be decided in the judicial inquiry,” he said. Mr. Karnik said that six officers had shot at the protesters, altogether using 51 bullets.

The Hindu, 13 August, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2351492.ece


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