Reuters
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-03-23T175135Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-292057-1.xml
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Gujarat government
admitted on Friday its police killed an innocent
Muslim man in a staged gun battle known as a
"false encounter" in 2005, wrongly
accusing him of plotting to kill its chief minister.
Sohrabuddin Sheikh was shot dead by Gujarat's
anti-terrorist squad in a controversial shooting
on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. His wife has
been missing ever since.! That original news
that a Muslim plotted to assassinate Narendra
Modi, Gujarat's top politician, caused apprehension
among Muslims at the time, worried it could
spark a backlash against their community in
the state. Police claimed Sheikh was an activist
of the banned Kashmiri militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba
and was plotting to kill Modi to avenge the
death of hundreds of Muslims in the 2002 riots.
"It was a false encounter," senior
counsel for Gujarat, K.T.S Tulsi, told a three-judge
bench at the Supreme Court headed by the chief
justice. "Senior police officers are involved.
We are prepared to take immediate action,"
he added. The counsel sought some time to take
action against the officers which the court
granted. Human rights groups in India say that
"false encounters" in India are common.
In Kashmir, the government is probing reports
that security forces staged gun battles and
passed off victims as militants in order to
win promotions and cash rewards. Rights groups
accuse Modi of doing nothing to stop the religious
rioting in which they say about 2,500 people,
mostly Muslims, were killed. Officials say about
1,000 people died.
Police say Modi had been under threat from Muslim
militants after the riots. The Supreme Court
case came after Sheikh's brother Rubabuddin
accused top police officials, including the
chief of the anti-terrorist squad, of
staging the encounter. Another petition pending
before the court alleges Gujarat police killed
21 terror suspects in staged encounters between
2003 and 2006. The court sought more details
about these cases.
