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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Rajasthan yet to respond to compensation demand

Rajasthan yet to respond to compensation demand

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published Published on Jan 17, 2012   modified Modified on Jan 17, 2012
-The Hindu
 
For 11 Muslim youths exonerated in connection with 2008 Jaipur serial blasts; denied bail, they spent three years in prison
 
More than a month after a fast track court here acquitted 11 persons of the charge of involvement in the May 2008 Jaipur serial blasts, the Congress-led government in Rajasthan is yet to respond to demands for compensation to the exonerated youths on the Andhra Pradesh pattern and action against police officers who had framed innocent people in concocted terror cases.

The ruling party, which was initially stupefied by the court's judgment, is still seemingly confused about dealing with the outrage against the police and taking a stand on the issue. It had earlier backed the claim of Anti-Terrorism Squad that the suspects, arrested in a crackdown, had provided logistics to the main accused for building a terror network prior to the bombings.

With the ATS case crumbling in the court, civil rights groups here have blamed the ruling Congress for accepting “without demur” the claim of the previous Bharatiya Janata Party regime about having cracked the blasts case. Despite repeated calls, the State government has refused to review the probe or change the investigating team, which the activists said had adopted a “predetermined line.”

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who had earlier given credit to the ATS for cracking the case, said after the December 9 judgment that he was “willing to probe” the role of police during the BJP regime. However, there has been no follow-up on his assurance during the past month.

In an attempt not to be seen doubting the credentials of the ATS, Mr. Gehlot — who also holds the home portfolio — had pointed out that the investigating officers always function with full independence.

“Nobody interferes in the police investigations. It is not done by the Home Minister…not even [by] the Chief Minister,” he told journalists four days after the court verdict.

Caught on the wrong foot, the Home Department has reportedly examined the judgment at the highest level and claimed that it has “sufficient evidence” against those let off by the court. According to informed sources, the Department has sought legal opinion about future course of action while contending that the acquittal of 11 of the 14 suspects was ordered on “technical grounds”.

Exonerating the 11 persons, the court held that the prosecution had failed to establish their links with the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and could not prove that they were involved in radical or terrorist activities or were promoting hatred and enmity between different communities. Having been denied bail, they spent the past three years and a half in the Central Jail here.

The court observed that the ATS did not obtain the Union Government's permission before filing the charge-sheet, which is mandatory under Section 45 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and could not prove the fact about getting the State government's permission for prosecution under Sections 153-A and 295-A of the Indian Penal Code. These procedural lapses too formed the basis for acquittal.

After the Andhra Pradesh Government paid Rs.54.2 lakh as compensation earlier this month to 61 Muslim youths wrongly arrested and tortured in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case, the ruling Congress here is finding it difficult to deal with the demand for similar reparations. The acquitted persons stated after their release that their life and career had been ruined and their families faced the stigma of being branded terrorists and anti-national.

State Minorities Commission Chairman M. Mahir Azad told The Hindu on Monday that he had recommended the State Government for payment of compensation to all the acquitted persons. The National Commission for Minorities has also written a letter to the Chief Minister in this regard.

Mr. Azad said the Commission had power to summon the guilty police officers and seek their explanation for falsely implicating innocent youths: “I will study the Andhra Pradesh court judgment and government notification before taking an [appropriate] action.”

The Andhra Pradesh initiative for paying compensation is the first of its kind in the country.

Reacting to the State Government's “continued silence” in the matter, the Rajasthan Muslim Forum said the court verdict had proved that “communalised officers” had targeted Muslim youths and affirmed that the ends of justice would only be met when such officers are punished.

Muslim Forum convenor Qari Moinuddin regretted that the ruling Congress was unwilling to take a “bold secular stand” on the issue and order a review of probe into the Jaipur blasts case. Despite the alleged role of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-backed outfits in the October 2007 Ajmer dargah blast coming to light, the State government was reluctant to have a fresh look in the Jaipur case, he said.

The State unit of All-India Milli Council has also extended its support to the demand that the Rajasthan Government tender an “unconditional apology” and take action against the police officers. Council general secretary Abdul Qayoom Akhtar pointed out that the ATS case was disproved in the court with the majority of the 48 witnesses, including five police personnel, retracting their previous statements and turning hostile.

During the incarceration of the accused here, delegations of distinguished Muslim citizens from Kota, Baran and Jodhpur met several Congress leaders — in particular the then Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal — several times, but none of them agreed to intervene in the matter. Eventually, the innocent persons were mired in a protracted legal battle before the ATS case crumbled in the court.

A.P. gave Rs.54.2 lakh compensation to 61 Muslim youth wrongly held, tortured in 2007 blast case

Rajasthan refuses to review probe, change team, which activists say adopted “pre-determined line”


The Hindu, 17 January, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2806704.ece


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