New Delhi:
The Centre's move to change its stand on the Ishrat Jehan fake encounter has met with mixed but strong reactions.
Ishrat was killed in an allegedly fake encounter by the team of the Ahemdabad Crime Branch in 2004. Nationwide condemnation followed, but an affidavit submitted by the Centre indicating that Ishrat was indeed a Lashkar member created a shadow of doubt.
But now, NDTV has learnt that intelligence inputs on Ishrat were not conclusive and need further investigation.
"We knew all along that our daughter was not a terrorist and today the truth has come out," her family members said.
The new affidavit is a double-edged sword for the government. On the one hand it takes away from the Modi government benefitting from the Centre's affidavit; on the other it gives the BJP some fresh ammunition to attack.
"There are reports that the Central government is planning to change the affidavit filed in the case of killing of Ishrat and others. Then why the state governments should take reports of the central intelligence agencies seriously? An affidavit is filed under oath so did the government file a false affidavit earlier?" BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
But legal experts feel that once the Tamang report revealed that Ishrat was killed in a fake encounter, the Central government is almost duty bound to revisit the affidavit.
"No doubt politically it may be said Union of India is changing colours. I don't think that is right. I don't think it is a contradiction on the part of Union of India that it acted on suspicion and that is wrong," said Rajiv Dhawan, a legal expert.
The Centre's new affidavit is currently being vetted by Home Ministry and the Attorney General of India and will be submitted soon to the Gujarat High Court.
The question now is -- will this mark the beginning of another long battle, this time between the Centre and Modi?
Ishrat was killed in an allegedly fake encounter by the team of the Ahemdabad Crime Branch in 2004. Nationwide condemnation followed, but an affidavit submitted by the Centre indicating that Ishrat was indeed a Lashkar member created a shadow of doubt.
But now, NDTV has learnt that intelligence inputs on Ishrat were not conclusive and need further investigation.
"We knew all along that our daughter was not a terrorist and today the truth has come out," her family members said.
The new affidavit is a double-edged sword for the government. On the one hand it takes away from the Modi government benefitting from the Centre's affidavit; on the other it gives the BJP some fresh ammunition to attack.
"There are reports that the Central government is planning to change the affidavit filed in the case of killing of Ishrat and others. Then why the state governments should take reports of the central intelligence agencies seriously? An affidavit is filed under oath so did the government file a false affidavit earlier?" BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
But legal experts feel that once the Tamang report revealed that Ishrat was killed in a fake encounter, the Central government is almost duty bound to revisit the affidavit.
"No doubt politically it may be said Union of India is changing colours. I don't think that is right. I don't think it is a contradiction on the part of Union of India that it acted on suspicion and that is wrong," said Rajiv Dhawan, a legal expert.
The Centre's new affidavit is currently being vetted by Home Ministry and the Attorney General of India and will be submitted soon to the Gujarat High Court.
The question now is -- will this mark the beginning of another long battle, this time between the Centre and Modi?
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