Perhaps ‘encounters’ are the invention of Indian State. Extra Judicial killing are ubiquitous. In South Africa’s white regime it was in the form of ‘suicides’. In Latin America it is in the form of ‘missing’. Gradually ‘encounter’ has assumed new connotation in vocabulary, meaning liquidation of inconvenient persons.

In Kashmir, every year 2000 persons – militants and innocents – are liquidated by army and paramilitary forces. M.A. Untoo, chairman of Srinagar based Human right front, has done painstaking investigations and compiled 276 cases of extra-judicial killing. Institute of Kashmir Studies has compiled 20 voluminous reports of human rights violations. Three volumes comprise custodial deaths and fake encounter killing.

During the period of Khalistan movement, Punjab police and paramilitary forces killed thousands of militants, and innocent civilians were liquidated with impunity. In North-East, thousands of people of various nationalities – Nagas, Mizos, Manipuries, Assamese, Tripuries were killed in fake encounters.

In AP, since early seventies, ‘encounters’ became order of the day. During the emergency alone, 77 were killed in fake encounters. Bhargava Commission, which was set up to enquire the extra judicial killings, was wound up since it was "demoralising" the police force. Again West Bengal in ‘70s was quite notorious for liquidation of revolutionaries under Sidhartha Shankar Ray. From the beginning of ‘80s in AP, every year around 255 revolutionaries, sympathisers of the movement are liquidated. Beloved leaders of CPI (M-L) [PW] and CC members Comrades Murali, Shyam and Mahesh were caught in Bangalore and were killed in cold blood naming it as ‘encounter’.

In the name of curbing insurgency and crime, these extra judicial assassinations are growing. Every time the same story is repeated by the police. Police has overt and covert sanction of the political establishment. Indian Constitution may chant holier things like "rule of law", "due course of law", "natural justice", "right to life as fundamental right", etc. etc. Once you begin to challenge the state, reality of the state character as an organ of oppression will be crystal clear. As the state becomes more and more fascistic, the iron heel crushes not only revolutionaries, dissenters but even parts of the ruling class.

It is very rare that there would be any witnesses to these assassinations in cold blood. The police constable who was asked to shoot Comrade Rajan (an engineering college student in Kerala in 1975) later revealed the real story behind the encounter. In 1980 in Nalgonda district Com. Nageswararao of CPI (ML){ROC} was produced before the magistrate at the dead of night. Com. Nageswararao asked the magistrate that he feared his life and requested him not to give him to police custody. Magistrate refused. After the Magistrate closed doors, not far away from his, police killed Nageswararao and spun the ‘encounter’ story. The magistrate must have heard gunshots. He dared not come out.

In separate cases, in 1998 and 2000, six tribals were killed in encounters in Tripura and some weapons were recovered from them. Ratan Mazumdar who liquidated these youth was given President’s police medal and promotion. Later it was found that the ‘recovered’ weapons were handed over to the police when they surrendered in 1994.

In Kashmir, just before the day of Clinton’s arrival, Indian security forces or the pro-State elements killed 35 Sikhs in Chittisinghpora village. Police after a week claimed that they eliminated five foreign terrorists who were responsible for the massacre. It was innocent locals who were liquidated by the police. When samples were sent to DNA testing from charred bodies beyond recognition, in the wake of enquiry after a mass movement opposing the fake encounter, the government instead of sending original samples sent duplicate so that truth never came out. Even if there are chances, though rarely, that truth comes out, the state viciously tries with its means to suppress it.

In the background of all these, it is not surprising that when an eyewitness dares to come out with truth to speak about a fake encounter, the state reacts viciously.

On 3rd November, just a day before Diwali, two ‘terrorists’ were killed in an ‘encounter’ by Delhi Police at Ansal Plaza. The police as usual spun the story that they were about to kill people in a big way, but they could eliminate through smart ‘encounter’. Delhi Police were praised by many. After all, they had prevented another ‘Akshardham’! But one, Dr. Harik-rishna, came out with details what he had seen on that day. The ‘terrorists’ were unarmed and were barely in a walking position when they came out from the car. The shoot out lasted for only one minute and not for 15 minutes as claimed by the police. As the police cock & bull story of killing two Pakistani terrorists came out in pieces, police threatened the doctor to change his statement. Meanwhile Kuldip Nayyar, MP and Praful Bidwai, a journalist wrote to NHRC to protect the witness. Hell broke out after that.

VHP President, Vishnu Hari Dalmia said, those who sympathise with them (terrorists) are anti-national. Their action would serve the purpose of the terrorists by demoralising the security personnel. He urged the government to see the possibilities of amending the law to debar NHRC form dealing with matters concerning terrorists. VHP leader Surinder Jain said: "More than ISI, Al Qaida and Jehadi elements, it is people like Nayyar who encourage terrorism in all its forms." Already the NHRC, a toothless organisation, is being asked by Dalmia that it should be turned into a spineless one! We cannot expect anything less from fascists! The Super ‘nationalist’ BJP defended the police to the hitt. Arun Jaitley, BJP general secretary said that Delhi Police had done a commendable job in liquidating terrorists. Alluding to Kuldip Nayyar’s petition to NHRC, Jaitley said the so-called human rights activists must be sure of facts before discrediting the security forces, whose morale should be borne in mind. In a news channel he declared that Human rights activists are over ground force of the underground.

Vajpayee endorsing the BJP’s defence of Delhi Police said: tough decisions entailing "temporary" infringement of individual freedoms and rights was inevitable in the fight against terrorism.

When such vicious outpourings are coming from ruling communal fascist forces, no opposition party from Congress (I) to CPI, CPI (M) did open their mouths to question the veracity of the fake encounter. Perhaps such is the ‘nationalist’ spirit of revisionists too!

Many dailies began to find loop holes in the police story. Many journalists condemned the outpouring of BJP and opined that dissent should not be suppressed. Whether truth comes out or not, the incident has raised a debate about extra judicial killings. While BJP and Sangh Parivar organisations have rabidly come out against any question on the police action, and all the rest of the opposition maintaining a complete silence, democrats have stood by their stand questioning the nefarious methods of state machinery.

As fascism is growing, a well-rooted and strong democratic movement in all the nook and corners of India is a dire necessity to raise the consciousness of the people to fight against state terrorism.