Wokay!

What is it about the Sohrabbudin encounter killing that brought out idiotarians from all sides?

First, we had Swapan Dasgupta, who claimed in the Pioneer that Sohrabbudin was just collateral damage in the fight against terrorism:

The conflict between robust anti-terrorism and cynical politics is at the heart of arrest of DG Vanzara and two other IPS officers on charges of killing Sohrabuddin Sheikh, a known extortionist and gun-runner, and his partner in a “false encounter”.

Exactly how does summarily executing an extortionist count as robust anti-terrorism? And if he does have terrorist ties, is arresting him and bringing him to trial not robust enough? (Actually, it isn’t – but that’s an argument for improving judicial processes and police reforms, not encounter killings).

Swapan Dasgupta then pulled an unrelated analogy out with the 7 July bombings:

Two years ago, the British police erred in gunning down an innocent Brazilian in London. Did that lead to the demand for the interrogation and arrest of the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister?

Well, no. But then are the British police subject to the level of political control and/ or interference that the Indian police are? If the political leadership isn’t willing to give the police autonomy, then it should damn well take the responsibility.

The whole column stank of non sequitur, really. Dasgupta kept bringing in a counter terrorism angle (when there was none), and pushed a ‘you can’t have an omelette without breaking eggs’ line. Contrast that to Ramesh Ramanathan’s column in Mint, where he actually pointed out possible police reforms that would free the police to conduct real counter-terrorist operations free of political interference:

The clock on this police reform is ticking. States were required to adhere to the Supreme Court’s directive by January 2007; this has been extended to 31 March 2007. In the coming months, we will see an independent police force for the first time in this country. With it, less opportunity for police misconduct. Lower probability of another Sohrabuddin fake encounter. Fewer moral cul-de-sacs for people to get trapped in.

(Okay, it remains to be seen if the structural changes will actually lead to independence and probity, but at least it’s a start. And at least Ramanathan talks about solutions instead of going off and ranting the way Dasgupta does.)

But wait, that’s not it. From the other end of the ideological spectrum, we got this stunning blogpost on Kafila. Which claimed that all encounter killings in the country were the handiwork of a conspiracy in the Intelligence Bureau. And this is because:

The question is not whether Mr. Modi sanctioned or did not sanction the killings (even presuming that he did), or whether Sohrabuddin was killed on the request of ‘Rajasthani Marble Traders’. The question is, how could the Gujarat police (even if we assume that it acted under orders solely emanating from Modi’s home ministry in Gujarat, or from the Rajasthani Marble Trade) successfully undertake an operation that needed to be fine tuned as far away as Hyderabad, just on its own resources.

and:

What is missing, or not commented on, in much of the discussion round the fake encounters is the fact that this kind of multi-state co ordination of police forces can only be done by Central bodies. The one central body uniquely equipped to bring such co ordinated efforts to fruition is none other than the Intelligence Bureau.

Correct. You know, last month me, Skimpy, Baada, and BJ met up for dinner. We all work in different companies. We live in different parts of Bangalore. We have different job profiles. This kind of multi-company coordination of MBAs cannot be done independently. It must have been done by a central organizing body. The only body capable of doing this is the IIMB Alumni Association. Cellphones and informal networks are a myth.

The truly appalling thing is that this steaming pile of manure got inked from Desipundit. Clearly, being a congenital idiot is no bar to getting link love from Abinandan.

Anyway. I shall now go off and blog about pleasing things. I need to replenish up my bile reserves for when I write about If God Was a Banker.