AIDWA Demands Inquiry into Ishrat's Killing

27 Jun 2004

All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has demanded an independent inquiry into the murder of a young woman, Ishrat Jahan Raza by the Gujarat police.

THE All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has demanded an independent inquiry into the murder of a young woman, Ishrat Jahan Raza by the Gujarat police. In a statement issued on June 18, the organisation felt that "the truth can only emerge from an independent investigation in which agencies outside the state are involved".

Saying that the state government, its police force and other senior officials under Modi are tainted by an extreme communal bias, the AIDWA said they have no credibility to conduct an investigation into the killings, particularly of the young woman who from all reports had no links to any terrorist group. "Indeed there are legitimate questions about the entire incident, that it could even have been stage managed to divert attention from the challenge Modi faces from his own party", it stated.

Pointing out that even today hundreds languish in jail under POTA with no evidence against them, their crime being their membership of a particular religious community, the AIDWA said this incident once again points to the absence of the rule of law in Gujarat where the gravest violation of minimum rights of citizens can be done under the cover of terrorist threat.

AIDWA extended its deep condolences to Ishrat's bereaved family and offered full support in the struggle to expose the truth and punish her killers.

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