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| | AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HOME MINISTER OF INDIA
We consider the murderous attack on Prof. Syed Abdul Geelani, a teacher of Arabic in Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, on 8 February, 2005, an assault on Indian democracy itself. Prof. Geelani's life has always been in danger ever since he was falsely implicated in the Parliament attack case and was subsequently acquitted of all charges by the High Court in Delhi.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HOME MINISTER OF INDIA Shri Shivraj Patil Hon'ble Minister of Home Affairs Government of India New Delhi 9 February, 2005 Sir, We consider the murderous attack on Prof. Syed Abdul Geelani, a teacher of Arabic in Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, on 8 February, 2005, an assault on Indian democracy itself. Prof. Geelani's life has always been in danger ever since he was falsely implicated in the Parliament attack case and was subsequently acquitted of all charges by the High Court in Delhi. It is a matter of shame that the law-enforcing system of the country failed to protect an outstanding voice of democracy in India. Although we do not wish to pre-judge any specific complicity in the attack on Prof. Geelani at this stage, we strongly feel that the involvement of the Delhi Police itself, especially its Special Branch, in the crime can not be ruled out. It is clear by now that this Branch was in the grip of communal-fascist forces during the entire proceedings in the Parliament attack case. As with the other accused in the case, Prof. Geelani was falsely implicated on the basis of forged documents and concocted evidence. He was illegally arrested, brutally tortured and made to sign on blank sheets of paper by the officers of the branch. Attempts were made on his life inside the prison. Per the records submitted by his defence before the Supreme Court of India, he was constantly shadowed by the police throughout the country even after he was honourably acquitted by the High Court. Despite the torture and danger to his family, Prof. Geelani never submitted to the dictats of the police and, unlike the other accused, refused to sign the forced "confessions" written by the police. After his acquittal, Prof. Geelani has been a prominent voice in defence of democracy and human rights. Following his own bitter experience, he has drawn attention of the country to the abject violation of the rights of prisoners, especially Kashmiri muslims, in the Tihar jail. No wonder his presence has been a thorn in the flesh of cynical power enjoyed by the Special Branch with the undisguised blessings of the erstwhile NDA government in the name of anti-terrorist operations. With this background, the handling of the present case by the Crime Branch of the same Delhi Police will be a textbook case of conflict of interest. It will only add to the continuing travesty of justice and human rights in the Parliament attack case. Therefore, we appeal to you to 1. Appoint an independent judicial commission to inquire into the attack on Prof. Geelani to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice 2. Take additional measures to ensure the security of the two other accused in the case, Mohammad Afzal and Shaukat Hussain Guru, currently lodged in the Tihar jail Also, in continuation with our earlier appeal to the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India (enclosed), we appeal to you to A. Bring out a white paper on the Parliament attack B. Institute a high level judicial inquiry into the illegal practices of the Special Branch of the Delhi Police, induding allegations of corruption, violations of fair trial standards and allegations of false encounters We hope that, with the ouster of the NDA government, the atmosphere of fear and prejudice that engulfed the country during the previous regime will give way to genuine concerns about democratic norms, justice and human rights. We are aware of the promise of the UPA government to "preserve, protect and promote social harmony and to enforce the law without fear or favour to deal with all obscurantist and fundamentalist elements who seek to disturb social amity and peace." We are encouraged by your own statement in the Parliament that "the main tools of the UPA Government in dealing with terrorism would be dialogue, good governance, social justice, economic growth and the cooperation of the people." Sincerely 1. Nirmalangshu Mukherji Delhi University 2. Ali Javed Delhi University 3. Vijay Singh Delhi University 4. Gautam Navlakha Journalist 5. Rita Sinha Delhi University 6. Anshuman Singh Delhi University 7. Sachin N. Delhi University 8. Tara Prakash Delhi University 9. Kanika Kwatra Delhi University 10. Radhika Menon Forum for Democratic Initiative 11. Jitendra Kumar Journalist 12. Poonam Srivastava Jawaharlal Nehru University 13. Uma Gupta Delhi University 14. Rashid Ali Journalist 15. Shohini Ghosh Jamia Milia Islamia 16. Madhu Prasad Delhi University 17. M. F. Kumar Delhi University 18. Javed Naqvi Journalist 19. Partho Dutta Delhi University 20. Chetna Jadav Delhi University 21. Svati Joshi Delhi University 22. Kamal Chinoy Jawaharlal Nehru University 23. Manilah Imam Jawaharlal Nehru University 24. Muqbil Ahmar Jawaharlal Nehru University 25. Prabir Purkayastha Delhi Science Forum 26. Rakesh Ranjan Delhi University 27. Anjani Kumar AIPRF 28. Jeevan Vikalp 29. Harish Dhawan PUDR 30. Bhupinder DSU 31. Sanjay Kak Film Maker 32. Upendra Swami Jan Sanskriti Manch 33. Bhasha Singh Jan Sanskriti Manch 34. Berhard D'Mello PUDR 35. Bharati Jagannathan Delhi University 36. Satya Jawaharlal Nehru University 37. Jehnen Delhi University 38. Karika Delhi University 39. Santanu PUDR 40. Reena Teacher 41. Ratneswarnath Ekta Parishad 42. M. I. Mansingh Ahmedabad 43. Nabarun Majumdar Delhi 44. Anil Pershand Jawaharlal Nehru University 45. C.G. Manoj Journalist, PTI 46. Aziz Mehdi Jamia Milia Islamia 47. Shamin Ahmed Jamia Milia Islamia 48. Hasan Mohd. Jamia Milia Islamia 49. Joya John PSU 50. Maya John PSU 51. Shshank Jamia Milia Islamia 52. Iqbal Jamia Milia Islamia 53. Nandita Narain Delhi University 54. Swapnil Gupta Punjab University 55. Ehtasham Ali Jamia Milia Islamia 56. Pushpa Jamia Milia Islamia 57. Abdul Hafiz Jamia Milia Islamia 58. Mohammad Jamia Milia Islamia 59. Iman Jamia Milia Islamia 60. Kaleem Jamia Milia Islamia 61. Abdul Rahim Jamia Milia Islamia 62. Sushil Vikalp 63. Anil AIPRF 64. Rajesh AIPRF 65. Dharmendra AIPRF 66. Shahid Alam Jamia Milia Islamia 67. T.R. Sagar Delhi University 68. Mrityunjay Yadavendra Jamia Milia Islamia 69. Rashmi Paul Delhi University 70. Imran Khan Delhi University 71. Kr. Sanjay Singh Delhi University 72. Sandeep Jawaharlal Nehru University 73. Jitendra Kumar Jawaharlal Nehru University 74. Srikant Jamia Milia Islamia 75. Arundhati Gomes ASK 76. Md. Akbar Ali Delhi University 77. Chandan Kr. Jawaharlal Nehru University 78. Md. Javed Jamia Milia Islamia 79. Deepika Tandon Delhi University 80. Saikat Ghosh Delhi University 81. Rupleena Bose Delhi University 82. Najma Rehmani Delhi University 83. Ish Mishra Delhi University 84. Manizah Delhi University 85. Rahim Delhi University 86. Shanil Delhi University 87. Albeena Shakil Jawaharlal Nehru University 88. Subhanil Choudhury Jawaharlal Nehru University 89. H. M. Imran Jawaharlal Nehru University 90. Sima Kanungo Delhi University 91. S. B. Pandit AISA 92. Imteyaz Ahmed Delhi University 93. Ranjana Saxena Delhi University 94. Satyadeep PUDR 95. Rona Wilson SPDPR 96. Kundan Kr. Eastwinds 97. Anjana Kumari DSU 98. Javed Malik Delhi University 99. Neeraj Malik Delhi University 100. Anumendra Singh Lawyer (and 49 others)
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