Manufacture of ‘terrorists’

Evidence of Suspicion: A Writer’s Report On The War On Terror
Amitava Kumar
Picador
224 pages
Rs350

“The acquittal of an innocent man is not an occasion for celebration, but a cause for reflection,” said SAR Geelani, soon after his release from jail after he was acquitted of terror charges by the Supreme Court. They sum up the essence of this book that delves into the other side of the ‘terror story’ as given out by police and authorities.

 Journalists these days have a tendency to take ‘at-face-value’ whatever is thrown at them by the police. However, in this book, Amitava Kumar, who teaches English at Vassar College in New York state, takes up instances of ‘terrorists’ reportedly involved in some of the most sensational cases, some in Mumbai, some in New York, and goes beyond what is spoon-fed to the media by investigators. In the process, he unearths heart-wrenching tales of ordinary people caught in the crosshairs of an anti-terror regime running amok.

The most touching revelation is that of Geelani and how he was arrested in connection with the Indian Parliament attack. This is a classic case of how the police, under tremendous national and international pressure, target an individual who is not even remotely connected to the terror activity and weave a case around him.

The kind of torture Geelani was subjected to would have forced any individual to confess to any crime. In the end, Geelani was acquitted of all charges.

 Another moving story is that of Iqbal Haspatel, who was arrested for his reported involvement in the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai. Though Haspatel was acquitted of all charges by the court, it took almost 15 years, and by then his entire family had been ruined.

In the post 9/11 world, investigators are keen to show terror-related arrests. The book throws light on the way police and investigators, who are desperate to show results, trap gullible people by first luring them into a trap with the help of an undercover agent, and then, once the victim has succumbed, arrest him by announcing that he was involved in terror-related activities.

In Mumbai alone, since 2002, as many as 120 people have been arrested on charges of terrorism. Of these, only eight have been convicted by the court. Others have either been acquitted or are still languishing in jail, with their trial pending in the courts.

After reading the book, one is forced to ponder whether all these people who are arrested on terror-charges are really involved or have been victims of over-zealousness on the part of the investigators.