Author: Editorial
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 21, 2008
URL: http://dailypioneer.com/135891/The-mask-falls-off.html
ATS inquiry appears to be sinister plot
There is now further evidence, if at all it
is needed, to suggest that the so-called investigation by the Maharashtra
Anti-Terrorism Squad into the Malegaon explosion on September 29 is fast turning
out to be a sinister conspiracy. The conspirators appear to be driven by no
other motive than to destroy the lives and reputations of individuals, among
them a decorated officer of the Indian Army, in the hope of fetching electoral
gains for the Congress which is desperate to appease jihadis and their patrons
in the wake of the Batla House encounter in which two Muslims, believed to
be involved with terror bombings planned and executed by the Indian Mujahideen,
were killed. The busting of terror modules and the pace set by the Gujarat
Police have also unnerved the Congress and its allies who now feel obliged
to be seen as 'punishing' Hindus to reaffirm their 'secular' credential. Nothing
else explains why the ATS should have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control
of Organised Crime Act on Thursday against the 10 people arrested for their
alleged involvement in the Malegaon incident. Ever since the Maharashtra ATS
began its witch-hunt, it has not been able to produce even a scrap of sustainable
evidence; all that it has done - arguably with remarkable success thanks to
those sections of the media which are only too happy to peddle fiction as
fact - is to plant fanciful stories through anonymous sources, many of which
have been subsequently denied. For instance, the Maharashtra ATS has had to
withdraw its stunning claim that the accused were involved in the bombings
on Samjhauta Express when confronted with evidence to the contrary. This has,
however, not dampened the enthusiasm of the calumniators to defame the accused
and deny them their rights under the law of the land. Obviously the Maharashtra
ATS could not have functioned in such an outrageous manner had it not been
instructed to do so by those in power in New Delhi and Mumbai. The Maharashtra
ATS chief is welcome to insist that there is "zero political pressure"
on him and his men, but such assertion will impress only the naïve and
those who are comfortable with the cynical politics of the Congress which
can go to any extent to push its vicious agenda.
It would be in order to record that the Maharashtra
ATS has invoked Section 3 of MCOCA against the accused, including Sadhvi Pragya
Singh Thakur and Lt Col SP Purohit, which provides for the death penalty if
a crime has led to the death of an individual. By invoking MCOCA, the Maharashtra
ATS has also ensured that it can detain the accused for a longer period of
time without framing charges against them or being made answerable in a court
of law. If in the end the case collapses, those guilty of such blatant abuse
cannot be held accountable - they know it, so do their political patrons.
This newspaper reiterates that if a crime has indeed been committed, the guilty
should be punished through due process of law, irrespective of their status
or religious identity. But short-circuiting the process is not the answer;
it only raises serious and disturbing questions and indicates unwholesome
motives. Meanwhile, we should ponder over the fact that the alacrity with
which a tough law that provides for the death penalty has been invoked against
'Hindu terrorists' is in sharp contrast to the Congress failing to carry out
the death sentence against a convicted jihadi terrorist: Mohammed Afzal Guru
will bear out this point.
