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Sunday, March 4, 2012

Premnath Jha killing: Suppressed Facts, Inside Story & Political Angle

Premnath Jha killing: Suppressed Facts, Inside Story & Political Angle


4 March 2012, Mumbai: Newspaper reports of Premnath Jha's murder on Friday, February 24 have overlooked some key details. The doctors and police tried to suppress material facts and avoid conducting a post-mortem. They tried to push Jha's grief-stricken family to cremate the body after only a cursory examination, so that the contract killing would pass for a mere road accident. And there is a reason for all this.

 

[Earlier Press Reports: TOI http://tinyurl.com/TOI-Premnath-Jha

HT http://tinyurl.com/HT-Premnath-Jha ]

 

Based on detailed discussions with an insider, I am drawing your attention to the feudalistic law-and-order environment within Premnath Jha lived and died. Please ask yourself whether the police investigation of the murder can be impartial and effective.

 

KEY POINTS OF THE CASE:

 

·         JHA WAS SHOT AT CLOSE QUARTERS WITH A SILENCED GUN. There was only one bullet injury at the back of Premnath Jha's neck, and nothing else -- not even a scratch or bruise on his head, arms or body. The motorbike too had no scratches and dents. So it seems most likely that Jha and his bike fell over when they were standing, not moving. The insider suggests is that Jha may have been stopped on the road by somebody pretending to enquire about an address or some such thing. When he halted, the gunman came from behind and shot him in the nape of the neck from a distance of one or two feet. (In other words, it was not a killing that involved firing half a dozen bullets on a moving target, and the bullet did not strike his forehead as the press reports suggest. It lodged inside his skull and killed him.) The entry wound was tiny and neat, caused by a small-bore pistol bullet no thicker than a ball-point pen. Probably, the pistol used had a silencer, as the gunshot did not attract attention.

 

·         JHA WAS A WELL-NETWORKED SOCIAL ACTIVIST in North Mumbai, and was known in many slums for his social work, he was opposing the illegal construction activities of builders in that area through RTI application. He lived in Phoolpada, a suburb of Virar East, about a kilometer from the railway station.

 

·         JHA WAS AN ESTATE AGENT. This occupation involves large cash dealings with little or no documentation. Estate agents deal with builders, land sharks and shady characters of all shapes and sizes. As the dealings themselves are in shady areas, disputes cannot be resolved by lawful processes. So the question will arise whether he was in any sort of business dispute.

 

·         VIRAR IS THE STRONGHOLD OF JAYENDRA "BHAI" THAKUR AND HITENDRA THAKUR – two brothers who are politicos as well as underworld dons. Hitendra Thakur was formerly a Congress protégé, but soon outgrew this party. The Thakur brothers are virtually rulers of Vasai-Virar, and their political party Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) dominates Vasai-Virar Municipal corporationwith 55 out of 89 seats. Shiv Sena, MNS, Congress and NCP have no hold in this area. Hitendra and Bhai Thakur run a number of mafia-type businesses, such as water tankers, transport and security guards. Any builder or company that wishes to do business in that area must pay about Rs 150 per square foot of land to their charitable trust. Background info:

(i)                  Hitendra Thakur Wikepedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitendra_Thakur

(ii)                Suresh Dube Murder Case: http://tinyurl.com/BhaiThakur-trial

(iii)               Vasai-Virar Municipal Elections 2010: http://tinyurl.com/Thakur-VasaiVirar-election2010

 

·         DESERTED ROAD, NO WITNESSES. Virar is the most distant western suburb of Mumbai, and is among the least developed suburbs of Mumbai. It is in Thane district. Phoolpada is a thinly populated place without many buildings, shops and establishments. Jha was riding home  for lunch – around 12.30 or 1 pm – and the road was deserted at that time. People in nearby flats might have seen something if they were looking out of their windows… but the question is, was anybody looking on that fateful afternoon? And will he or she testify?

 

·         VIRAR MEDICAL AUTHORITIES & COPS TRIED THEIR BEST TO IGNORE THE BULLET WOUND. The fact that Jha bled to death from that wound, and no other, should have made it the point of focus. But when the RTI activist was taken to the local Government health centre, the doctor in charge declared that it was clearly an accidental death, and gave the family clearance to dispose of the body without conducting a post-mortem. "Why do you want us to rip apart the body and stitch it up?" he asked Jha's sons and others accompanying the body. (CBI should probe how a qualified government doctor could take such a suspicious stand.) Ignoring the fact that the activist had bled to death from that small wound, the doctor refused to perform an autopsy. He theorized that a roadside stone had injured the back of his neck when he fell. (Visualize a person falling from his bike. Isn't it more likely that head, face and shoulders would first come in contact with the ground? Is it even plausible that one might hurt the back of his neck?)

 

·         A WELL-KNOWN PRIVATE HOSPITAL IN VIRAR AVOIDED EXAMINING THE BULLET WOUND. When the government hospital refused to conduct an autopsy, people took the body to Sanjeevani Hospital – a prominent private hospital in Virar. There also, a lady doctor insisted that the wound on his neck was insignificant and refused to investigate. The cops accordingly registered a case of "accidental death".

 

·         POSTMORTEM OUTSIDE THAKUR TERRITORY REVEALED THE BULLET. Jha's determined family and friends transported the body to JJ Hospital in Mumbai – about 50 km away and away from the Thakur sphere of influence. From there, the body was sent to Nair Hospital for a CT scan, which ultimately revealed the bullet lodged in his head. So finally, at about 1 am in the night – over 12 hours after the event –  a case of murder was reluctantly registered by the police.

 

·         POLICE HAD DELAYED SIX HOURS BEFORE REACHING THE SPOT. Inspector Yousuf Bagwan and other cops turned up at the murder spot only around 7 pm. Except for the cops receiving phone calls, every cop in Virar East police station was supposedly assigned to a duty duty elsewhere, and nobody could spare the time to go to the spot between 1 and 7 pm; how very convenient!

 

·         ACTIVIST COLLEAGUES & BUSINESS ASSOCIATES ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT. Premnath Jha had some activist colleagues in Vasai Virar, Mira Road and Borivali. However, they are keen on being left alone, and are distancing themselves from this case, says the inside source.

 

·         JHA'S FAMILY IS CURRENTLY ON PILGRIMAGE IN GAYA, having taken his ashes for immersion. Their house in Phoolpada lies locked up. Any RTI documents and other correspondence giving a clue to this case are inside that house, and hopefully they will be safe. If so, such documents may emerge after their return in a week or so. Hopefully, they will not give in to threats and intimidation.

 

TWO BIG QUESTIONS:

 

1.       Bhai Thakur and Hitendra Thakur are to Vasai-Virar what Sholay's Gabbar Singh was to Ramgarh. The Thakurs insist on their services being engaged for everything local, be it transport or security guards. So, what are the chances that the contract killer would have carried out this assignment without their knowledge and approval? For that matter, is it likely that someone would have given the supari to the killer without taking the Thakurs into confidence?

 

2.       The Thakur brothers have total control over the Municipal Corporation, and their word is law in Vasai-Virar. So, what are the chances that the local police will investigate it without fear or favour?

 

WHAT RTI ACTIVISTS MUST DO NOW:

 

The local police cannot be trusted with the Premnath Jha murder case. Unless CBI can be compelled to take over this case, the investigation will reach a dead-end. So RTI activists must PETITION THE GOVERNMENT TO DO THE FOLLOWING:

 

A.       DIRECT THE CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (CBI) TO TAKE OVER the investigation from Virar East Police Station. CBI should especially probe the role of the doctors who tried to hush up the murder and destroy evidence through their inaction and misleading actions.

 

B.      INVESTIGATION MUST FOCUS ON BUILDER CIRCLE, both in Vasai-Virar and elsewhere in Mumbai. Even if not directly guilty, they are likely to provide important leads and insider-information.

 

C.      INVESTIGATE GOVT OFFICIALS CONCERNED WITH LAND RECORDS & BUILDING PERMISSIONS. The role of government officials in the web of such illegalities is crucial. It is likely that Premnath Jha either revealed or got caught in such a web.

 

D.      ASK GOVT DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE SUO-MOTO DISCLOSURE of RTI applications and complaints received from Jha, and all the information that he had requested. All this should be prominently published on the internet at once.

 

E.       OFFER SUBSTANTIAL WITNESS-PROTECTION to his family and others so to enable and encourage them to depose without fear.

 

F.       Last but not least, URGE JHA'S FAMILY, BUSINESS ASSOCIATES AND ACTIVIST COLLEAGUES TO SPEAK OUT. Some activist colleagues are in Borivli, 10 km away outside the Thakurs' turf. If they have detailed knowledge of meetings with civic officials, builders etc. copies of his RTI applications and replies, correspondence etc., they must put it out into public domain. PUTTING ALL MATTERS INTO PUBLIC DOMAIN IS KEY TO PEOPLE'S SAFETY; as long as they possess privileged information, there is always a temptation for wrongdoers to threaten or harm them to suppress that information.

 

Warm Regards,

Krishnaraj Rao

9821588114

Building.RTI.Union@gmail.com

 

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