All stories by Jyoti Punwani
'Speeches were very provocative'
Rediff.com24 Feb 2022This senior cop who deposed in such detail about the Elgar Parishad, however, claimed to know nothing about the opposition to it from organisations such as Milind Ekbote's Samastha Hindu Aghadi as well as Pune's then Mayor Mukta Tilak.
Bhima Koregaon Commission: STARTLING Revelations!
Rediff.com8 Feb 2022Rashmi Shukla's testimony comes as a revelation because the proceedings of the Elgar Parishad form the basis of the Bhima Koregaon case which has become an international cause celebre.
MPs write to PM to free BK-13
Rediff.com8 Feb 2022'We urge you to take remedial measures to address this blatant injustice pending withdrawal of the case against them,' the MPs write.
Bhima Koregaon: Is Milind Ekbote Being Protected?
Rediff.com3 Feb 2022The former BJP corporator was named by a villager in a police complaint made three days before the January 1, 2018 violence at Bhima Koregaon. Yet, the police did not include his name in the FIR.
A Messiah For Humanity Passes Into The Ages
Rediff.com31 Jan 2022Where does one find a man who shows no bitterness or animosity towards Hindus, even after a frenzied Hindu mob burnt his house down?, Jyoti Punwani asks in this tribute to a truly extraordinary Indian.
Remembering A A Khan: The Tough Cop
Rediff.com24 Jan 2022Unlike other top police officers, A A Khan spoke boldly --- be it while defending 'encounters' in many of which he was involved, or in tracing the cause of the ghastly Radhabai Chawl incident, recalls Jyoti Punwani. Encounters were useful, he said, because hardened criminals who were targeted were beyond reform and no good for society.
What A Dalit Student At Top Mumbai Medical College Endured
Rediff.com21 Jan 2022Not just in the hostel, but in college too, they would block his way in the corridor; snatch his mobile; make him get up from where he was sitting; crowd around him in the mess; drag him into their room and threaten to hit him with a belt.
Police Case Collapses. Journalist Acquitted After 14 Years
Rediff.com13 Jan 2022'The wrong person had to spend a banvaas of 14 years on a wrong charge.'
Why Is Professor Saibaba Denied Basic Rights?
Rediff.com12 Jan 2022Right from his arrest in May 2014, the Nagpur jail authorities have denied Professor Saibaba his basic rights, even flouting court orders in the process.
'Soon a situation will come when the police will kill anyone claiming he was a criminal'
Rediff.com3 Jan 2022'There have been more than 70 cases of extra-judicial killings in Assam.' 'In some cases, people have been taken away from their homes by the police and then shot.'
Lynching and Some Harsh Truths
Rediff.com24 Dec 2021Would a Muslim or Christian or Dalit mob who lynched someone because their religious feelings were hurt be given State protection? asks Jyoti Punwani.
Bhima Koregaon: The Mystery of Fadnavis' Terms of Reference
Rediff.com15 Dec 2021No report of the violence was sent by Mumbai's police commissioner to the government. Why was the violence then considered serious enough to be included in the Terms of Reference? Was it a balancing act to counter the accusations that were then being made against Hindutva leaders Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote?
AFSPA: 'A symbol of oppression, an object of hate'
Rediff.com10 Dec 2021The Supreme Court found enough grounds to order a CBI probe into 1,528 extra-judicial killings in Manipur between 2000 and 2012.
Hindus don't hate Munawar Farouqi. The police do
Rediff.com29 Nov 2021The police do not have it in them to confront the Hindutva groups in a country ruled by a Hindutva party. No wonder Munawar Faruqui feels this is the end for him, asserts Jyoti Punwani.
'This fight is not just about Father Stan Swamy'
Rediff.com27 Nov 2021'Father Stan was concerned about other innocents who may be implicated and put inside without the slightest proof, the way he was.'
'No government can ignore police violence'
Rediff.com23 Nov 2021'An international survey has shown that India figures high in the list of countries on people's approval of torture.' 'What is surprising is that even if you look at the many vibrant social movements we've had, there's been no campaign that predominantly focuses on police torture.'
'What enables police violence?'
Rediff.com23 Nov 2021'Why potentially anybody, not only Muslims and Dalits, can be subjected to custodial death?'
'What's a document seized by NIA doing in the Bhima Koregaon Commission?'
Rediff.com20 Nov 2021There exists a curious link between Advocate Niteen Pradhan's client Milind Ekbote and Harshali Potdar: Both have blamed each other for the Bhima Koregaon violence, notes Jyoti Punwani.
'Physical torture remains the main form of interrogation'
Rediff.com19 Nov 2021'One police officer told me that trials take forever, conviction rates are low.' 'So one way to judge states' performance on handling crime is through the 'recovery rate' of their police.' 'The fastest way to get recovery is by torturing the accused.'
'There is fear and anxiety among Kashmiri students'
Rediff.com13 Nov 2021'Families think 100 times before sending their children to mainland India.'