Rafique, Atik encounters were contract killings!

By CT reporter
MANGALORE: A shocking information that has been received of late is that the reported encounter killings of Atik alias Bullet Sudhir and Mulki Rafique, at the behest of the SP owing to pressure from hardliner Hindus, were in fact contract killings taken up by the SP himself.
When BJP leader Sukhananda Shetty was murdered in front of his granite shop on Kulai-Hosabettu Road on December one last year, the police at that moment were not sure about the killers though they had enough clues before them. It was then that some Sukhananda Shetty well-wishers who were also saffron band entrepreneurs decided to take two lives to avenge the Sukhananda Shetty killing, in the second week of December as by then Shetty’s Vaikunta Samaradhana would have been over. It was also decided to depute hired killers from a killer gang in Mumbai. Some names like that of Ravi Poojari came up before them. In the meantime, a three member team even left for Mumbai for talks with the dons. During the second round of talks the dons reportedly demanded Rs one crore to finish off two. However, when the team failed to strike a deal with the hired killers, a proposal came up as to why not award the contract to the khaki band for half the amount. Finally, this matter was brought up for discussion with Modi’s disciple in the district.
Sources now indicate that this ‘powerful’ politician soon held talks with the SP and struck the deal for the contact killing. Then an entrepreneur who arrived at the airport from Mumbai left straight to the SP’s residence to hand over the suitcase.
For the SP who had to yield to the saffron band pressure to execute two to maintain the equilibrium following the earlier killing of two in a police firing during the procession of the dead body of Sukhananda Shetty, the contract offer was nothing but a God send gift. Dayananda, who had tried to keep this Rs 50 lakh deal a secret to some extent, entrusted the task to his sub-ordinate inspectors Gangireddy and Venkatesh Prasanna. The two officers were also assured of an award in return. No sooner he received orders, Venkatesh Prasanna wasted no time - Atik was brought from Jog on December 18 and Rafique from a town near Madhurai in Tamil Nadu on December 30 as if everything was pre-planned ; to be more precise, the two officers knew the whereabouts of the two much earlier.
Even though Mulki Rafique’s name was heard in the Polali Ananthu murder case, the police without apprehending him had been only trying to get an excuse saying they were unaware of his whereabouts. However, the very same cops had no problem in apprehending the two when they wanted them.
The SP, who had already received the contract amount, gets Atiq finished at Ottinane near Byndoor on December 19 the very next day of his apprehension and Rafique at Indrali near Manipal, 12 days after his arrest.
However in case of Rafique, as the plans of the cops to finish him off in an encounter, was leaked to the press well in advance, the encounter date was put off and Rafique was finally eliminated on January 14. Following this incident, Rafique’s family itself had faxed to all media saying the SP Dayananda himself had masterminded the encounter plot. This eventually turned true also.
The fact that Rafique and Atiq who were arrested in connection with Sukhananda Shetty murder were eliminated through encounters in a similar fashion is the greatest evidence to prove that both the encounters were fake and pre-planned. Even if the cops try to argue that it was improper to link both the encounters and that they were coincidental, the civilized society cannot accept this argument. It is only an independent and impartial probe that may bring out the truth. Neither the SP nor his higher-ups have so far answered questions like how the two accused in police custody who were chained in hands and legs could escape and how they could have pistols or revolvers with them.
Today, the general opinion among the public is a brain mapping test may be inevitable on the SP who ordered the encounter and the two inspectors who executed the same, in order to get a true picture.

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Encounter killings: PUCL resents DySP’s remarks

By CT reporter
MANGALORE : The Dakshina Kannada district unit of the PUCL has taken strong exception to the Mangalore sub-divisional DySP D Dharmayya’s remarks to the allegation of the PUCL that the five encounters resorted to by the police officials in DK during the past two year period, were fake. It may be mentioned here that the PUCL had earlier submitted a memorandum to the chief minister seeking criminal proceedings and demanding the arrest of the police officials who resorted to the five ‘fake’ encounters in the district. However, the DySP in his remarks had termed the allegations as baseless.
The PUCL raising objection to Dharmayya’s remarks, has questioned how a sub-ordinate officer could probe the case when the allegation is against the SP himself, and has demanded a CID or CBI probe into the case.
The PUCL had in a letter addressed to the Chief Minister on January 31 had drawn his attention to the over dozen encounter deaths in DK and Udupi districts since 2003. Complaining that "DK and Udupi police have become notorious as
killers," the PUCL had furnished details of the encounter killings resorted to by the police.
"This is the heights of the arrogance and unbridled operation of the police; the government by misusing the police machinery was exploiting the people. The police officials, in order to win the appreciation, awards and promotion, through their political bosses, were mercilessly killing people," the PUCL had stated in its complaint.
Referring to the encounter deaths of Shaji alias David, Atiq alias Sudhir, and Mulki Rafiq, the PUCL had questioned why charge sheet had not been filed against the accused police.
"A policy of bias has been pursued by not arresting and charge sheeting the police officials concerned after considering every encounter and custody deaths as murder, as per the orders of the National Human Rights Commission," the PUCL had said in its complaint.
The DySP Dharmayya who had said that the PUCL complaint has been investigated had mentioned only about the encounter of Shaji alias David and had even defended this encounter.
The PUCL has replied as below to Dharmayya on May 31.
* As the accused is a district superintendent of police, the allegations against him needs to be probed by an officer holding a higher post than him.
* There is a Human Rights Cell in the police department. The investigation had to be done by a senior officer of this cell or through the National Human Rights Commission.
* Your letter does not verify whether an FIR has been field against the guilty officers as per the orders of the Supreme Court and National Human Rights Commission.
* Your letter mentions only about Shaji alias David. But we in our letter have mentioned about several other killings.
In the meantime, PUCL leaders of the district held talks with state PUCL leaders in Bangalore on the encounter deaths in DK. They have even discussed with legal experts on moving the High Court or Supreme Court in this regard.

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