Geelani attack disturbing, says SC

Later tonight, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said that the assault was a serious matter and needed to be probed.

Geelani, who teaches Arabic at Delhi’s Zakir Hussain College, was shot at in Vasant Enclave where he had gone to meet his lawyer Nandita Haksar at around 9 pm. He was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where he was operated upon early today morning. His condition is said to be improving.

Delhi police say that between 9 pm to 9.30 pm yesterday, Geelani drove to the house of Haksar after talking to her over the phone. He had parked his Maruti 800 around 150 metres from Haksar’s house and had just got out when, police believe, he was confronted.

Geelani’s injuries indicate he was shot at thrice from a range of four-five metres. However, five empty cartridges, of 7.65 mm, were recovered from near the car, indicating that the attackers missed twice and most probably fired from a semi-automatic pistol. Police believe there couldn’t have been more than two attackers, and possibly just one.

Considering that the assailant missed twice even from such close range, police feel he may not have been a professional. That makes the possibility of a militant outfit being behind the incident quite remote. ‘‘Geelani did not even fall to the ground and managed to walk around 150 metres to Haksar’s house,’’ a senior officer points out.

The other angle under investigation is personal enmity, with someone perhaps unhappy with the kind of people Geelani used to meet, police said. The calls received by Geelani on his mobile phone are being investigated.

The assailant, police suspect, knew about Geelani’s movements and was travelling on a motorcycle, which would be the perfect getaway vehicle in a place like Vasant Enclave, which is full of cars. In case the accused came in a car, he probably parked it outside the colony.

Police are hoping Geelani’s statement will clear the air; he wasn’t in a condition to talk to them today. ‘‘The number of assailants, their description if they weren’t masked, the getaway vehicle, whether someone was following him, or were the accused already present at the spot and were known to him would be clear once we speak to him,’’ the police officer said. Delhi police also termed allegations of its role in the shooting as ‘‘absolutely baseless and a figment of imagination’’.

‘‘The media have been quoting Haksar, who has said that the attack on Geelani was by Delhi police,’’ said Ranjit Narayan, JCP (Crime Branch), which is probing the incident. ‘‘In her statement to the police during the investigation, she has not said anything to that effect. In fact, she, according to her own statement, is not an eyewitness in the case as she was inside the house working on a computer at the time of the incident.’’

Police also ask why Haksar did not contact them immediately after Geelani knocked on her door after being shot. ‘‘The call was made to police only by the Duty Officer at AIIMS. By that time we had already lost over half an hour,’’ said a police officer.

Denying that police had mounted surveillance on either Geelani or Haksar, Narayan said: ‘‘Geelani had not expressed any apprehension to the police prior to the incident of facing any threat to his security, nor had he sought personal security from Delhi police.’’

However, Jethmalani said in Supreme Court today that there were 10 ruptures in Geelani’s intestine and claimed the professor had talked of danger to his life from police as far back as March last year and even filed an affidavit in this regard.