|
New Delhi:
Over a dozen women activists, senior journalists and academicians
denounced former home secretary GK Pillai for the indecent remarks
on the personal life of Ishrat Jahan, the Mumbai girl who was
killed in a staged shootout and sought immediate apology from him.
“We condemn Pillai’s insensitive sexist slandering of a girl who
cannot defend herself, and demand an immediate apology,” they said
adding that Pillai's remarks are made to defend his old affidavit.
“Stung by the SIT report which
concluded that Ishrat was executed in cold blood, former Union
Home Secretary G.K. Pillai, hard-pressed to defend his affidavit
to the Supreme Court that Ishrat was a Lashkar operative, has
stooped to now slandering the girl’s personal life suggesting that
her checking into different hotels with “another man” was
definitely suspicious", they wrote in a joint statement.
"Perhaps" they added, "Mr. Pillai
wishes us to believe that all those young women who travel and
work independently are ‘suspicious’ and could have terrorist
links,” they added.
“Pillai is no doubt aware that questions will be raised about his
affidavit, and also all those journalists who were churning out
whatever that was emanating from his office and is now rushing to
hide behind sexist insinuations,” they said.
“Pillai knows well that with the
killing of Ishrat and three others, the case is forever closed. No
court is now going to try Ishrat for her alleged links with
Laskhar. And that is precisely the convenience of encounter
killings, the allegations can never be proven or disproved.
Lashkar-e-Toiba’s hailing of Ishrat does not count for much.
Organisations have been known to make grand claims for purposes of
propaganda, Norway being a case in point.”
Pillai's comments came after the Gujarat High Court appointed
Special Investigation Team concluded that Ishrat was executed in
cold blood by Ahmedabad police in 2005. As Home Secretary then,
Pillai had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court that Ishrat was
a Lashkar operative.
|
Comments
|
Quick links