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| Was Rajneesh killed in police custody? | | |
SANT KUMAR SHARMA
Jammu, October 10
The death of Rajesh a.k.a. Rajneesh Sharma in a police station in Srinagar some days ago is something that the police top brass should take serious note of. The widow of the deceased person and his family have alleged that Rajesh was killed in police custody.
The accusation of custodial death is something that should be investigated fast and professionally to bring out the truth. If not, the credibility of the police will suffer damage.
It has already been dented by the dubious role some policemen played in the recent Amandeep murder case as also the case pertaining to the deaths of two women in Shopian. Whenever guilty individuals have been protected, the institution (the state police is a fine institution indeed) has suffered the damage.
In the past too, there have been cases of custodial killings. When the guilty were booked instantly, the police got kudos. However, in some cases, half-baked attempts were made to shield the guilty, the truth surfaced later, and the police landed in a soup.
Another four-letter word starting with s and ending in t, used freely in speech, can replace the word soup here but its use in print is still a taboo. Horrible and foul stench has started emanating from the case relating to Rajesh’s death already.
It is rather unfortunate but true that four SSPs, all from the 1984 batch of KAS, are presently behind bars for their alleged involvement in murder cases. At least three of them are facing murder charges personally and the fourth one has been accused of helping in destruction of evidence in a murder case.
Karnail Singh is facing murder charges for allegedly getting the paramour of his daughter killed.
Sewak Singh is facing murder charges for allegedly getting a sub-inspector Sanjeev Gupta killed.
H S Parihar is facing murder charges for allegedly getting some innocent persons killed and projecting them as militants.
Manohar Singh, SSP of Jammu till last month, has an enviable record in counter-insurgency operations. He is now facing charges of playing a part in destruction of evidence in Amandeep murder case.
Of course, the former SP of Shopian and his deputy, besides a host of other ranks, are also facing criminal charges.
These cases have been quoted to illustrate that the conduct of several policemen has not been above board.
So far, the civil administration and the police have tried to buy peace by making offers of jobs, cash compensation etc to deceased Rajesh’s family. What they should focus on simultaneously, if not instead, is to find out the truth about Rajesh’s death.
Aanchal, the widow, was hysterical on Friday as she hurled abuses and accusations against her father and brother. She alleged that her father, an inspector of state police, presently posted in the State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) was behind Rajesh’s custodial killing.
Aanchal was Amina till the other day when she got married to Rajesh, despite her father’s opposition. The non-acceptance of the marriage by Amina’s family led to Rajesh’s mid-night arrest on kidnapping charges some days ago from his house in Jammu.
He was then taken to Srinagar and lodged in a police station. His family members alleged that he was tortured in custody and there were visible torture marks over the corpse.
A 25-year-old woman accusing her father and brother of contriving to kill her husband in police custody is an extraordinary event. More so because no custodial killing can be treated as a normal death in any civilized society, whatever be the provocation, and circumstances.
The manner in which the investigations were carried out initially into the deaths of two women in Shopian in May-end this year brought the Kashmir valley to a standstill. The state government has paid a heavy price for the initial mishandling of the case.
In Rajesh’s case, will history repeat itself and the investigations lack direction and purpose, to begin with, as appears to be the case now? Or have any lessons been learnt from the Shopian case and correctives are in place?
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