The report of the Gujarat High Court-appointed Special Investigation Team that probed the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, make it clear that the so-called “encounter specialists” of the Gujarat police handled the post-encounter situation very shoddily. Perhaps driven by over-confidence, or may be lack of experience then, the police did not bother much to cover their footprints and the blunders it left behind made it easy for the investigating officers to...

-EPW   With laws like the AFSPA, when will truth and justice prevail in Jammu and Kashmir? Like all Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) chief ministers after the dreadful years of president’s rule from 1990 to 1996, Omar Abdullah too stands discredited, especially in the wake of the 2010 uprising of the “stone pelters” which was later brutally suppres­sed. A widely held opinion in the Kashmir Valley is that the chief minister, whether of...

-The Hindu   SIT says 2004 killing of Ishrat by Gujarat police was staged A Special Investigation Team appointed by the Gujarat High Court has concluded that the sensational Ishrat Jahan encounter of June 15, 2004 — in which the Ahmedabad police claimed they shot dead four Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists on a mission to assassinate Narendra Modi — was entirely staged and the teenaged girl from Maharashtra and the three men who died with...

The relentless campaign to discredit the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and diminish the institution is continuing. One is not surprised; this has happened before, for instance in the Bofors case. However, one is dismayed because the campaign, unwittingly aided by some elements in the media, seems to be succeeding to some extent. It seems urgently necessary to dispel certain doubts and misperceptions before they gain ground and...

A group of villagers, instigated by Maoists looking to establish a role for themselves in Pachuara village’s dealings with a mining company set up there, murdered Sister Valsa John as they perceived her to be an obstacle in their designs, the police have concluded. Seven of those villagers have been arrested, including Advin Murmu, who is also accused of raping an associate of the Sister, said IG of Santhal Pargana Arun...