
‘The war on terror’: India’s ‘war on terror’ is ‘a war on our people’
- August 20, 2021
India’s war on terrorism is a war on India’s people and their rights, the Supreme Court has said, while convicting several politicians and police officers involved in the crackdown.
The apex court in a five-judge bench on Thursday also sentenced six policemen for their role in the 2008-09 Gujarat riots that left more than 1,000 people dead and thousands more injured.
In the wake of the verdict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed hope that the court would uphold the law and order and that the nation would soon see a peaceful end to the war on people and the law.
He said the government was committed to bring an end to communal violence and extremism, and he was confident the court could do so.
“The war against terror is a law, and the war against terrorism is the war of our people,” Modi said.
“The law that we are seeking to implement in this country is the law that will ensure that our law and rule will be enforced, and that our country will have a peaceful, prosperous, and prosperous life.”
The Supreme Court acquitted four persons in connection with the 2008 Gujarat riots, including two policemen who were later charged with criminal conspiracy.
It also convicted five policemen in connection to the 2008 Delhi riots, but those cases were also thrown out in 2014.
The Supreme Courts decision on Thursday, however, came as it was revealed that the six police officers were part of a conspiracy to bring down the Narendra Modi government.
The trial court had said the conspiracy was hatched by the police officer and his accomplices.
However, the court on Thursday convicted five others in the case, including one police officer.
The court also acquitted four others from the Gujarat riots and acquitted a woman.
The trial court sentenced four police officers in connection, but one of them was later released on bail.
Two people from a family of slain actor-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari were convicted of conspiring to kill Tiwar, the son of Tiwali, the actor who died in January after being tortured for days by police.
The other two men were acquitted.
The Tiwaris and the others were part and parcel of the conspiracy, the trial court said, adding that the family had made up the conspiracy in the wake the killing of Tiyari.
The court convicted Tiwars wife, Prabhu, and another woman, Biju, for their part in the conspiracy and sentenced them to death.
The judge also acquitted a police officer, Gopal Rai, for his part in framing the conspiracy.
The government had previously sought the death penalty for Tiwal, the father of actor-actor-turned politician Jaspal Tiwary, who died on February 14 after being beaten and tortured for several days.