Indian Police has always stood in the line of fire of media and social activists, irrespective of what they have done. Especially when it comes to encounters. The police have got such a bad name to them that even when they kill a dangerous terrorist or a huge gangster, doubts and questions are being raised against them.
The most recent example of it being the encounter of 20 smugglers in the Chitoor this week. The state government has evidence that all these men were habitual offenders, and not ordinary woodcutters. But in spite of this fact, civil rights activists are protesting against the police and are not ready to accept the justification given by the police that they did it in self defense.
Let’s forget for a moment if they were right or wrong, and flip back the pages of history. There have been various instances in the past where the police had faced criticism and backlash from the media, for the encounters which they had carried out. Here are the 7 most controversial encounters which were not enough to make the police a hero.
#1 Batla House Encounter – On 19th September, 2008, two suspects were killed and two were arrested in Jamia Nagar, Delhi. The incident was followed up by protests from the teachers and students of the Jamia Milia Islamia University against the police authorities. Later on in 2009, the Human Rights commission gave the Delhi Police a clean chit.
#2 Ansal Plaza Encounter – This event transpired in the basement of the building, Ansal Plaza, New Delhi. Two terrorists were shot down in this public place. Two witnesses of this incident (one was a self proclaimed witness) reported that the encounter was fake, which was contradicting to the statements of all other eye witnesses.
#3 Ramnarayan Gupta Encounter – He was allegedly the right hand of the underworld don Chhota Rajan and the police had been in search of him for a long time. It was on 11th November, 2006 when Mumbai Police could get their hands on the dangerous gangster near Versova, and the encounter resulted in the death of Lakhan Bhaiyya, as he was popularly called. It resulted in a lot of inquiry and criticism from the media. The police were made the main culprit instead of the gangster.
#4 Ishrat Jahan Encounter – The 19 year old girl was shot down along with three other men named, Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Zohar on 15th January, 2004. All four of them were most probably members of the terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and were planning to assassinate then Chief Minister of Gujrat, Narendra Modi. The encounter was challenged by the government and was proven ‘staged’, undermining the efforts of the Indian police.
#5 Sohrabuddin Sheikh Encounter – Sohrabuddin was killed on 26th November, 2005 by the state police while he was in custody. He was an alleged member of Lashkar-e-Taiba and it was believed that he wanted to kill a prominent leader of the state and instigate communal riots. It was later on proved that the encounter was fake, but the fact that Sorabuddin could have been a very dangerous prospect still stands true.
No matter how controversial these encounters were, but they did result in eliminating huge dangers to the society. We should give credit to the Indian police for the good they have done for us, and not just criticize them for everything.
