The other encounters

Besides the Ishrat Jahan case,the Gujarat government has officially listed 20 other encounter deaths between 2002-2006....

Last week,the Gujarat government came under the scanner after a magisterial report said that the encounter in which Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed was staged. In another case earlier,the state government had admitted before the Supreme Court that Sohrabuddin Sheikh,who was gunned down in November 2005,was killed in a fake encounter. Sohrabuddins wife,Kausar Bi,and a key witness in the case,Tulsiram Prajapati,were also killed. In response to a question in the Assembly,the Gujarat government said there were 21 encounter deaths in the period between 2002-2006. While the list includes the Ishrat Jahan case,it does not mention Sohrabuddin,his wife or Prajapati. Also,missing from the list is Samir Khan Pathan,a resident of Ahmedabad,who was gunned down by the police in October 2002. He was alleged to have conspired to kill Chief Minister Modi.

The encounters of Bapudi Mohammed Shah Faquir and Mer Bhima Manda Adhedara have a curious connection. Three years after former minister Haren Pandyas death,his widow,Jagruti Pandya,in a letter demanding a re-investigation,had mentioned that both Bapudi and Bhima had vital information about the murder.

Interestingly,the same group of policemen D G Vanzara,N K Amin and others were involved in most of the Ahmedabad encounters. Similarly,in all the four encounters in Valsad,Police Inspector K G Erda and Sub-Inspector Jitendra Yadav were involved. Erda was posted in Ahmedabad during the 2002 riots. He was later arrested by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team in connection with the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya riot cases.

Sadiq Jamal Mehtar,a Bhavnagar resident,was killed on January 13,2004. The Gujarat police claimed he was an ISI agent associated with the Lashkar-e-Toiba,Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel. Sadiq was alleged to have been on a mission to kill Narendra Modi,L K Advani and VHP leader Praveen Togadia. Six months later,Mumbai-based journalist Ketan Tirodkar,in a statement before the Special MCOCA Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act Court claimed that Sadiq was shot in a fake encounter. He said the Mumbai Polices encounter specialist Daya Nayak had handed over Sadiq to the Gujarat police. Sadiqs brother,Sabir,has moved the Gujarat High Court. All preliminary police investigation documents are in the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.

Ganesh Kunte and Mahendra Jadhav,both Mumbai residents,were killed in Ahmedabad on June 23,2003. According to the Gujarat police,the duo were members of the Chhota Shakeel gang and were planning to kill senior BJP leaders. During investigations,the Detection of Crime Branch DCB also arrested eight Mumbai residents and three Ahmedabad residents under provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act POTA. Of these,only three were sentenced to five years of simple imprisonment.

Ishrat Jahan Raza,Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai,Zeeshan Johar alias Janbaaz and Amjad Ali Akbar Rana were killed in Ahmedabad on June 16,2004. While Javed Shaikh was a resident of Pune,Ishrat was from Mumbra. Police said both Zeeshan and Amjad were Pakistani residents. According to Intelligence Bureau,the four were LeT operatives,and were on a mission to kill Narendra Modi and others. Ishrats mother,Shamima,and Javeds father,Gopinath Pillai,filed petions in the High Court and sought a CBI probe into the case. The Gujarat High Court appointed a three-member Special Investigation Team SIT to look into the case.

Jala Popat,a resident of Rajkot who was wanted in six cases of looting and burglary,was killed on January 17,2004. A magisterial inquiry report was filed.

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Salim Gagibhai Miyana,named in 11 prohibition cases,on May 4,2004. His mother challenged the killing in court,alleging it was a fake encounter. A head constable,Yentidevsinh Zala,was jailed.

Rafiq alias Bapudi Mohammed Shah Faquir,a resident of Jamnagar who was wanted in 38 cases of murder,burglary and dacoity,was killed on July 18,2007. A magisterial inquiry report was filed.

Mer Bhima Manda Adhedara of Junagadh who was wanted in 14 cases including murder,was killed on December 29,2004. A magisterial inquiry report was filed.

Kashyap Harpak Singh Dhaka,a resident of UP who was wanted in 11 cases of murder,looting,theft and illegal possession of arms,was killed on August 14,2004 in Vadodara. A magisterial inquiry report was filed.

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Mitho Umar Dafer wanted in cases of dacoity,was killed on March 14,2004 in Anand district.

Rajeshwar alias Mintu,wanted in 14 cases of murder,looting,dacoity and theft,was killed on April 9,2005 in Anand.

Anil Bain Mishra Bihari,a Surat resident wanted in the murder of a police constable and looting,was killed on March 11,2003 at Udhna Magdalla Road,Surat. A magisterial inquiry gave a clean chit to the police.

Mahesh Dipak Garwali,wanted in cases of looting and attempt to murder,was killed on January 21,2004 in Surat. A magisterial inquiry gave a clean chit to the police.

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Subhash Bhaskar Nair,an ex-Army personnel who was wanted in cases of murder and robbery,was killed on June 4,2004 on Surat Dhulia Road in Valsad.

Sanjay alias Sanju,a resident of Valsad,was killed on November 26,2004.

Dongaria Himla Macchar was killed on August 25,2008 in Maraigaon Valsad.

Haji Ismail Suzania,a resident of Jam Salaya who was wanted in 13 cases of smuggling,violation of Explosives Act and National Security Act,was killed on October 9,2005.

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Joginder Singh Khattan Singh Sikh,a resident of Valsad wanted in 42 case of murder,theft,dacoity and looting,was killed in 2006.