A man is shot at by unknown assassins in the dark of the night. He manages to survive. In the days that follow, the police badger him for an ‘interrogation’, raid his home, seize his computer, pick up his friends for questioning…
Geelani was once framed as guilty for a Parliament bomb blast. Now, he is being branded ‘guilty’ of an attempt on his own life!
DU lecturer SAR Geelani was saved from a death sentence in the Parliament attack case by a judicial acquittal a few months back. But assassins tried to mete out another death sentence on the night of February 8, pumping bullets into him right outside the home of his lawyer, human rights activist Nandita Haksar.
Geelani cheated death yet again. But the Delhi Police, facing the heat from an angry public, has lashed out – at Geelani and his well-wishers! The easiest ‘suspect’ is the victim himself, at least in this case involving a Kashmiri Muslim who has narrowly escaped being hanged as a terrorist.
Why is the Delhi Police’s response so spiteful and paranoid? Because, where Geelani and the Parliament Attack Case are concerned, it is the Delhi Police itself which is on trial. Notorious for the Ansal Plaza false encounter in the heart of Delhi, and having failed to pin its flimsy case on Geelani, the Delhi Police itself is the only one with a vested interest in silencing Geelani. Geelani is not new to attempts on his life – inside Tihar jail, he was repeatedly assaulted with sharp weapons and even poisoned. Complaints to this effect are well-recorded. If Geelani were conveniently dead, the murky story of who was really guilty of the attack on Parliament, and who therefore framed Geelani, could be expected to disappear.
After the attack on Parliament, the NDA Government needed a scapegoat fast. Geelani, a Kashmiri Muslim and a passionate advocate of the rights of the people of Kashmir, seemed a convenient and ‘safe’ enough target. Who would hear or believe his voice, especially after the vicious media trials that had already declared him guilty? So the Government hoped. But Geelani emerged as an unlikely hero. Teachers of Delhi University, students, civil liberties activists and prominent lawyers – all rallied behind him, taking his case as a test for India’s democracy. The facts spoke out quite clearly – there was no shred of evidence of Geelani’s role in the Parliament Attack. On the contrary, all the evidence pointed to a systematic witch-hunt by the Special Branch of the Delhi Police.
What is most irksome for the Delhi Police is the refusal of the Indian public to participate in the lynching of SAR Geelani. This is why their witch-hunt is now extended to the students and teachers who stood by Geelani. But the smear campaign launched against Geelani, his friends and family, seems doomed to failure. The DUTA held a successful bandh in protest against the murderous attempt on Geelani’s life, and there is a powerful demand for a CBI enquiry to probe into the attack.
The Home Minister must answer for the attack on Geelani, and for the harassment of his family and friends. He must also answer, why now that POTA has been ‘scrapped’, is the case against Geelani not being withdrawn? Why does the shadow of the noose continue to loom over Geelani? Why is Geelani, twice victim of attempted murder, being treated like a criminal by the very agency whose criminal negligence, if not criminal connivance, resulted in his near-death? In framing Geelani for the attack on Parliament, who was the Delhi Police trying to shield?
The Government must answer for the safety of all those accused, condemned or acquitted in the Parliament Attack case, and must institute a time-bound CBI enquiry to find the truth at the very earliest.
-- KK