Cops live on the edge all the time

A file photo of Bhopal Central Jail head constable Ramashankar who was killed by the eight Simi terrorists during their escape from the prison on October 31. (Photo: PTI)

Police deals with dangerous criminals in such cases, and not ordinary thieves In any encounter, the risk to the policemen concerned is high. There is always a question about whether these encounters are fake or not, and that can be debated too. But the first job of the officer present on the spot in such a situation is to save his men. There have been numerous encounters that can be named where the criminals, terrorists included, have killed policemen.

Also, what is this hullabaloo regarding having a separate judicial inquiry for encounters People raising this demand should know that whenever a policeman uses a firearm for killing, there exists a provision of a magistrate inquiry and it is mandatory. Plus, a report has to be submitted to the National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commission. Even an internal report is submitted. Depending on the outcome of all these inquiries and reports, appropriate action, if needed, against the police officers involved in the encounter will be taken, and this is the norm for all such cases.

Talking about the Bhopal case, one has to first see the background of the eight people who were killed in the encounter. All eight were not some ordinary robbers — they were members of a banned outfit, Simi. Simi is the same organisation that has several cases against it for recruiting young Muslim boys and radicalising them, and they have been found guilty of all these activities. Only after that has the organisation been banned.

So please note that when anyone decides to become a member of such an organisation, he already commits a certain offence and doesn’t remain innocent. In this particular case, it has been widely reported that the eight inmates escaped from the jail and killed a guard while fleeing. No one is talking about the guard. He was brutally murdered and the weapon used was made inside the jail, moulded by the inmates themselves. In every encounter like this one, the backdrop has to be considered as it plays the most important role in the incident.

There are several doubts that have been raised on how a person can kill someone using a spoon or a plate. So let me tell you that I have been the Inspector General Prisons and have come across criminals moulding spoons and plates into sharp weapons. It is possible, and such weapons have been used to attack fellow inmates or police guards in jails. People killed in encounters are dreaded criminals. They use anything and everything that they can lay their hands on to mould into a weapon. I need not go into details on how one can kill using a spoon, but there are ample examples to substantiate this claim.

In the case of the eight Simi operatives, the nature of the organisation they belonged to shows that they are aware of dangerous methods, and further shows that they would use violence to attack policemen. The policemen involved in an encounter use their judgment and there may be an error, but to say that the whole event is staged is completely unfair. I fear that an error is being committed by attacking the police: if people continue attacking the police, who will protect the common man There is a political vendetta that can be clearly seen in such situations.

After this case, even a former Supreme Court judge jumped in on the debate and went to the extent of asking that the police officer involved in the encounter be hanged. This clearly shows the prejudice people have against the police force. It also shows that these people strongly believe that the police can be given money and anyone can be killed, that there is corruption. Let me tell you, though, that there is corruption everywhere. But there are honest people as well, and you can find both in every organisation, while to bad-mouth a whole organisation as corruptis unfair.

In my opinion, the one in Bhopal is a genuine encounter. I am not sure whether the police overdid things, and this can be debated. The argument is that those eight inmates could have been arrested, but then that is easier said than done. The setting shows that it was not an urban area — the inmates could have taken cover and attacked the police. Do not forget that these men were already out of the jail after killing a police guard.

There are many recordings that surfaced after the encounter, but recordings can be misleading, and in encounters Recordings, unless put into context, aren’t of great importance.

Ruling out an error of judgment in any encounter would not be wise. It is easy to say that policemen kill people in fake encounters, but what many fail to understand is that these same policemen are playing with danger, especially when they are dealing with fanatics. The threat perception is very high and we have many cases where policemen, too, have been killed.

These criminals are dangerous and the use of force in such situations is fully justified. I would give the benefit of doubt to the policemen, since, during encounters, they are not dealing with ordinary thieves.

M.N. Singh is former Mumbai police commissioner.