Indian Express
September 05, 2007
Hashimpura: 20 years later, accused cops yet to face action
by Seema Chishti
New Delhi, September 4: Television clippings showing a motorcycle-borne officer of the Bhagalpur police force dragging a petty thief along may have brought police brutality sharply into focus, but in another matter, RTI pleas filed by relatives of victims of custodial killings 20 years ago have revealed how the police deal with one of their own when accused of flouting the law themselves.
Marking 20 years of the deaths of 42 Muslim men in custody at Hashimpura in Uttar Pradesh, their family lawyers had organised 615 RTI applications to be filed with the Police Armed Constabulary (PAC) in UP, to find out details of the status of 16 accused PAC officers and if they were still in service.
The responses received by lawyer Vrinda Grover this week have revealed some startling facts.
The Annual Confidential Report (ACR) of the 16 PAC officers, who were chargesheeted for the custodial killings and are being tried for murder (first in UP, and then by a Delhi Sessions Court since September 2000) reveal that of the 19 accused initially, other than the three who had died since the incident or those who have retired, all continue to remain in service. Not only this, the ACRs reveal that there is no trace of any misconduct on them. In fact, they have been praised for their work and some have been classified in the category of "ati uttam" or "excellent". For example, the ACR of chargesheeted PAC officer Ram Dhyan for 1987, after the CB CID started its inquiry, declares him to be a "smart aur swasth jawan hai, football team ka sadasya hai, is varsh do naqad puraskar paaye hain" (a smart and healthy jawan, who is a member of the football team, and has won two cash prizes this year).
In the same year, the ACR for another chargesheeted officer Budhi Raj reads; "kaam tatah aacharan ati uttam hai" (work and behaviour is excellent). Another chargesheeted jawan Samiullah's ACR for 1987 marks him out as "kaam aur aacharan achcha raha, satya nishtha pramaanit hai." (work and behaviour is good).
Says Grover: "Going through the detailed ACRs of the accused jawans really highlights how undependable and flawed the internal working of the police departments is. The internal checks and balances the police boasts about are these ACRs that are not only not critical, but laud those being tried in court for custodial killings."
Another shocking thing is that of the over 100 pages of documents given to RTI applicants, there are 19 pages of blank but attested sheets that have been given as part of the response to the applicants. The applicants intend going into appeal against this.
Two important questions remain unanswered, despite pointed questions being asked on these; one, the CB CID report (which was submitted to the state government in February 1994) has still not been made available, and the other, the names of the senior officer who had ordered the killing of the men picked up from Hashimpura in Meerut on May 22, 1987 is still a secret.
RTI revelations
• Twenty years on, no action taken, all chargesheeted still in service. ACRs praise accused jawans
• Several attested but blank sheets given out as response to RTI
• 1994 CB CID report still not made public about who ordered the firing on the 42 Muslim men in 1987
© 2007: Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world.
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