Last man standing – One-in-a-billion lawyer who gave Ishrat’s family another go at life

Ishrat

It was just one man among billions who finally brought justice and peace to the family of Ishrat Jahan Shaikh, killed in a fake encounter on June 14, 2004. His

Mukul Sinha

name — Mukul Sinha. It was 4.30 pm in 2007 when Musarat Jahan, Shamima Jahan and a friend entered advocate Mukul Sinha’s Ahmedabad office. The women were Ishrat Jahan Shaikh’s sister and mother, desperate to get justice for their slain daughter.
Experience talks
“I knew they were coming to see me and I had been briefed about the case. But I was still unprepared for the impact of what they told me. Musarat gave me all the details of the case and I almost immediately knew Ishrat had been murdered. My experience told me it was a fake encounter,” said Sinha, who has spent 32 years in court. That experience came from three specific cases — the Sadiq Jamal case, and the Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Kausarbi cases. All three had been allegedly killed in encounters by the Gujarat police. (See Fake encounter trail).
Similarities
“The more I read up on Ishrat’s case, which had been pending for over three years with the Mumbai High Court, I realised there were startling similarities with the other three encounter deaths in Gujarat. In fact, there were four clear factors that pointed to a fake encounter. (See Sign of four).
Sinha took up the case pro bono because it was a human rights violation case. “I work for the Jan Sangharsh Manch and that is how the Shaikh family approached me,” said the lawyer, who dismissed the largesse immediately. In fact, Sinha is a known name in Gujarat, working with riot victims through the Manch, which brings the poor and lawyers together. “The Maharashtra police is hand-in-glove with the Gujarat police. These fake encounters are conducted with the same ease as flesh trade across the state borders. Police claim lives of innocent people who are tagged as terrorists and are shot point blank without any evidence,” said Sinha.
The lawyer was all praise for Musarat. “Her poor mother could not stop crying for even a moment in the 30 minutes they spent with me. But Musarat held the family together. She was clear-eyed and absolutely calm narrating her sister’s death.”

Sign of four
Sinha’s four factors that pointed to a fake encounter
1) The encounter team was headed by former Gujarat ATS chief DG Vanzara, who had carried out all the encounter killings.
2) All the victims had a Maharashtra connection.
3) All the victims had minor criminal records, except Ishrat.
4) The police claimed that they had come to target and kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Fake encounter trail
The fake encounter cases Mukul Sinha has been representing include…
Sadiq Jamal case: On January 13, 2003, Sadiq Jamal (26) was killed in an alleged encounter in the Naroda area of Ahmedabad. The Gujarat police claimed he was a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and was going to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia.
Sohrabuddin Sheikh case: Sohrabuddin was shot dead by the Gujarat police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on November 26, 2005. The Gujarat and Rajasthan police killed Sheikh in a joint operation. They alleged that he was an LeT outfit member and was on a mission to kill senior BJP leaders, including Modi.
Kausarbi case: On November 27, 2005, the Gujarat police killed Sohrabuddin’s wife Kausarbi, claiming that she was part of the LeT gang, out to kill Modi.

Source: The Mid-Day