Thread:
Talking of the powers of the police and law enforcement, this story needs to be told. This happened. And I was a mute spectator. This is also the reason I speak up most vehemently against probable innocents being charged.
Talking of the powers of the police and law enforcement, this story needs to be told. This happened. And I was a mute spectator. This is also the reason I speak up most vehemently against probable innocents being charged.
In 1999, one of the finest cartoonists of this country was working at Outlook. His name was Irfan Hussain. He was shy, perceptive and a master at his work. His cartoons used to hit people where it hurts. And because of his mastery, he was under constant threat.
And one such threat was very credible that we reported to police too. And within a couple of months, in March 1999, he was murdered. The police was under tremendous pressure from the journalist community.
The President, the Prime Minister(Mr.Vajpayee) and every one in power was beseeched to get justice for Irfan's family. By the end of 1999, the police arrested 5 accused and charged them for carjacking and murder. Atleast 2 of them were from Anantnag in Srinagar.
Charges were framed in 2001. After due process, the trial started in 2006. And once the trial started, the police conspiracy became clear. They had identified 5 carjackers from different places already facing trial in similar car jacking cases and charged them for Irfan's murder.
What was a political murder became a case of carjacking and murder. The charge sheet was so frivolous that they talked of 28 stab wounds inflicted on Irfan during the car jacking. However, when Irfan's clothes were produced, there wasn't a single blood stain on them!
It is as if they disrobed him, stabbed him and put the clothes back on him. While acquitting the accused, the court said "looks like another story directly lifted either from a story book or from screen play of a movie," said the court.
The police knew their own conspiracy and decided not to appeal the acquittal. They deflected the heat and saved the political masters.
Completely depressed and disgusted, we moved the court to order a re-investigation, which was declined as no evidence would exist after 10 years.
Completely depressed and disgusted, we moved the court to order a re-investigation, which was declined as no evidence would exist after 10 years.
However In 2009, the court ordered a probe into the investigation to fix responsibility within the police for the botch up. To summarise, five supposedly innocent young men were arrested by police. The judiciary took seven years to acquit them.
Five innocent people spent seven years of their prime years of life in prison. Somewhere in India, Irfan's killers are still alive and laughing. The political masters of the killers got rid of Irfan.
Irfan is dead. But no one killed Irfan!
END
Irfan is dead. But no one killed Irfan!
END
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