''The police themselves are acting like investigator, judge and jury', says a woman rights activist on the police encounter of four rape-murder accused... Several activists and lawyers raised questions over the police encounter of four accused in the rape-murder case of a 26-year-old veterinarian in Telangana even as politicians across the party lines hailed the police action.
'Making its stand firm on the killing of four people suspected to be Maoists in Manjeekkandi forest of Attappady in Palakkad district, the CPI has submitted a report on it to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reiterating the party’s stand that it was a fake encounter. The second largest constituent in the ruling Left Democratic Front after the CPI(M), the CPI since the beginning has been asserting that the killing was a fake encounter while the government insists that it wasn’t and that the Maoists didn’t come to surrender.
Submitted by narendramodifacts on Fri, 11/01/2019 - 00:00
When G. C. Murmu was appointed lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir, most news outlets covered the story, and many carried short biographies of Murmu. His IPS batch, his "reputation for industriousness" and that he was close to Narendra Modi. Very few mentioned an audio recording in which he allegedly discusses obstructing the investigation into the murder of Ishrat Jahan and others.
[In light of the appointment of G. C. Murmu as J & K's first lieutenant governor, it is worth reading this blogpost about Murmu by former IAS officer Sanjeev Sabhlok, written in September 2013.]
'The Centre has appointed Girish Chandra Murmu and R.K. Mathur as the new lieutenant governors of the two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, that are slated to come into existence on October 31... Murmu, who belongs to Mayurbhanj, Odisha, was seen as a trusted aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah during their stint in Gujarat. Murmu was the principal secretary in the chief minister’s office when Modi helmed the state government in Gujarat...
'Home minister Amit Shah was the chief guest at the National Human Rights Commission’s Foundation Day celebrations on Saturday, October 12. The NHRC has existed as a body for 26 years, since 1993, and has reportedly disposed of nearly 18 lakh cases. It has directed about Rs 176 crore of relief to various victims of human rights violations. The current chairperson of the NHRC, a quasi-judicial body with the powers of a civil court, is Justice H.L. Dattu.
'The Congress government in Chhattisgarh has lodged an FIR against tribal rights activist Soni Sori and Bastar-based academic and researcher Bela Bhatia under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR was lodged on September 16 at Kirandul police station of Dantewada district. The activists say the purpose of the FIR is to counter their support for villagers who have been suspicious of the circumstances under which the September 13 encounter with alleged Maoists took place...'
'Justice Akil Abdulhamid Kureshi’s appointment as a high court chief justice continues to spur debate with the Supreme Court giving in to the Modi government’s insistence that he not be sent to Madhya Pradesh as the collegium had initially decided: the judge has instead been recommended for the position of chief justice of the Tripura high court. Justice Kureshi is currently the senior most judge in the Gujarat high court. As a high court judge, he had in 2010 sent Amit Shah to police custody in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.
'Lt Colonel Dharamveer Singh had raised a flag over alleged fake encounters in Northeast. He is now facing court martial for insubordination and keeping unaccounted arms... In September 2016, a sensitive situation reached the offices of Indian Army’s Eastern Command in Kolkata. One of its officers, Lt Colonel Dharamveer Singh of the Special Forces, alleged that a team of an army intelligence unit in Nagaland had committed fake encounters and dacoity against civilians in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland in 2010 and 2011.
