Historically, the general public heave a sigh of relief whenever criminals are killed by the police. However, the question whether such skirmishes ending with murders of criminals should take place or not remains unanswered.
Our country follows the rule of law and there is a justice system to punish culprits. If the persons accused in crimes or those convicted are killed in encounters, then what will happen to the state of law and judicial system? The question needs to be answered as to what truth the system is afraid of coming out from the mouths of the criminals. It is the responsibility of the police to protect the lives of the persons they are entrusted with.
The murderers of Atiq Amhed and Ashraf were disguised as journalists. Shivarasan, who played a crucial role in the assassination of the country’s former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was also wandering in Chennai as a journalist which allowed him to be in the close proximity of Gandhi during the assassination. Post this shocker of an incident, strict precautions were taken and no one was allowed to go close to leaders and VIPs. However, things are back to square one with horrific incidents happening again. In fact, who gave permission for the police to bring the convicts in front of the media? There were no need for the details about convicts being taken to hospital to reach the media. Why did the police not feel that the bullets fired at the accused were going to harm them as well? Why did they not fire back? How were they all safe except for one constable? All these questions should be answered. As per IPC Section 46, police can attack if an accused is trying to escape, or if attacking the police personnel, or is trying to save himself from getting arrested. Police are granted the right to self-defence as per IPC Section 100 if they have potential danger from the assailant. When the police feel that there is possibility of death from the attack, then they can use force as self-defence as per IPC Section 97.
The Supreme Court in one of its order has mentioned that judicial inquiry has to be held in cases of such skirmishes. Hence, the truth behind the recent encounter will come out sometime. However, it should also come to the fore if the encounter was well planned before. An encounter happening in Uttar Pradesh is definitely not a coincidence. Last month, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath while speaking in the Legislative Assembly, without taking anyone’s name, had said the words ‘mitti me mila denge’ (will turn them to dust) while warning mafias after Umesh Pal was murdered in broad daylight in Prayagraj. Then on April 13, Atiq’s son Asad was killed in an encounter by Uttar Pradesh police. Asad was the 183rd person to be killed in an encounter since the Yogi government came to power in the State. Which means that on an average, after every 12 days one accused is being killed in police encounters in the last six years.
The country in a way has a long history of encounters. The first known encounter in the country took place in 1924 when Alluri Sitarama Raju was killed by firing bullets. In the decade of 1950, taxes were levied upto 400% on the list of goods which gave rise to smuggling of foreign goods. Names such as Karim Lala, Haji Mastan and Varad Rajan Mudaliar came to prominence in the smuggling business of Mumbai, which in turn led to the emergence of Mumbai underworld. The D Company began during the 1980s. On the night of February 11, 1981, Manya Surve killed Shabir Ibrahim, the brother of Dawood Ibrahim when he was a rising don of the underworld. Mumbai police formed a team of three to rein in Surve, and in January of 1982 got the lead on Surve that he would be coming to Wadala. Eighteen policemen were on his trail who surrounded him and before he took out his pistol, opened fire at him. Five bullets from the police were on target. This was the first ever encounter which occured in Mumbai and served as an inspiration for the film ‘Shootout at Wadala’. The gangs of D Company, Chota Rajan, Ashwin Naik, Arun Gavli, Abu Salem had spread terror in Mumbai and police began with the encounters. Between 1982 till 2004, police have claimed to kill 422 goons in encounters. The Chambal Valley is divided into Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and during the 1960s, the terror of dacoits had reached its peak. In 1970, Uttar Pradesh began encounters against these dacoits under the tag of Operation Chambal Valley. Hence, these encounters are not new, but the way they are being carried out has definitely raised plenty of eyebrows. The Constitution has granted everyone the right to live and nobody has the right to take it away; definitely not the encounter-fame police.