Bhopal Encounter

Bhopal Encounter

8 terrorists open locks with keys made of wood and spoon to escape an ISO certified central jail. They killed a head constable also with plates and spoons without alarming other guards. They cross one wall with the rope made of clothes and another by jumping from it to ran away in the forest and jail authorities knew about the incident only at 4:30 when this all happened between 00:00 hrs to 3:00 hrs. Interestingly the four or five CCTV cameras on the area around their cells were not working. That’s the first part of the story now look at the second part. All terrorists were spotted at the same place and when police killed them in jungle they were wearing new clothes (when their clothes were used to make ropes) and shoes while remain in hiding for all that time. Police found only a brand new knife from them while they fired six bullets towards police.

If you question these stories full of loopholes and raises the issue of judicial & human rights of inmates you become anti-national for some. The videos made by locals gathered around the encounter site shows police firing when they were ready to surrender and then firing at their dead bodies. After hearing police version and seeing the videos I have following questions in mind:

• How someone open locks with spoons and wooden keys?
• Why authorities remain unaware about the incident till 4:30 hrs.
• How police knew about there whereabouts?
• From which weapon they fired at police officers?
• What were other guards doing when head constable Ramshankar Yadav was killed? 
• From where they got new clothes and shoes?

There are many more questions like why IG police and Home Minister have different version of the story. Why police retort to encounter when Supreme Court disapproves it? The people who anti-national stones on those who are questioning this encounter first raise their voices for speedy trials of terrorist cases so that they didn't enjoy police hospitality in jails. Fake encounters for police is normal and in many cases they have been punished for misuse of their powers.

The police system right now is dependent on political masters. This has made them corrupt and also answerable to these politicians than to the public and the constitution. Police forces are used to set right their personal agendas of electoral gains. Such fake encounters, arrest of innocent people, release of criminals, etc happens easily because promotions, transfer in India is done by politicians and not by the police department unlike many foreign countries where there is a performance based promotions which make it possible for even a constable to promoted up to the rank of a commissioner.

The Bhopal encounter needs to be probed by an unbiased authority in a time bound duration. Those who were killed were under-trials whose crime has not been established by the courts. Their allegiance to the banned SIMI organization is also questionable. Indian constitution has provision for equal opportunity of justice for all which in this case has been altered by this encounter. The reason and circumstances of death of head constable Ramshankar Yadav should also be investigated and the bigger issue of police reforms should also be discussed and debated.