Ishrat’s family demands Rs1 cr compensation

“We have died every day after Ishrat’s death,” said a teary-eyed Shamima Kausar, mother of Ishrat Jahan who was allegedly killed in a fake encounter in 2004. “Our family was always looked at with suspicion after the Gujarat police claimed that our daughter had links with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),” she said.

Addressing a press conference in Thane on Tuesday, Ishrat’s family claimed she had not gone to Ahmedabad. They said she was picked up from Mumbra by the Gujarat police and an encounter specialist from the Maharashtra police helped them.

While hinting at Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s involvement in the encounter, the family demanded a compensation of Rs1 crore from the Gujarat government. On June 15, 2004, the Gujarat police had gunned down four persons — Mumbra resident Ishrat, Javed Gulam Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali alias Rajkumar Akbarali Rana and Jisan Johar Abdul Ganny. The police claimed they were LeT members who wanted to kill Modi.

“We have heard that several innocent people are killed in similar fake encounters in Gujarat,” said Musarrat, Ishrat’s younger sister. “We were confident that Ishrat was innocent and had complete faith in the judiciary.” Shaikh Anwar, Ishrat’s younger brother, said they were thankful to Jitendra Awhad, MLC from the NCP, for supporting them.

“We went to several leaders but only Awhad helped us,” said Abdul Rauf Lala, a Mumbra resident and social worker. “Her family and friends came to know about her death on June 16, 2004, through news channels,” he said. “We request people not to look at the incident as any communal or regional issue. This was a fight for justice.”