THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- November 2, 2016- Topic 2
Questions about an ‘encounter’
The killing of eight
prisoners belonging
to an outlawed group hours after their escape from the high-security Central
Prison in Bhopal has set off a controversy that is unlikely to die down soon.
The eight undertrials, belonging to the Students’ Islamic Movement of India,
had been charged with serious offences and were alleged to have been involved
in the murder of policemen and in armed robberies. While escaping, they killed
a police guard who had tried to stop them. The murder of their colleague may
have goaded the police to pursue the suspects and zero in on them within hours
on the city’s outskirts with the help of the public. However, the dramatic
events that took place subsequently are clouded in doubt as the official
narrative does
not quite hang together. The State government and the police have failed to
provide a cogent explanation for the events of the day. The circulation of
footage purportedly recording some moments before and after the encounter has
invited charges that the encounter was ‘fake’. Doubts have been raised whether
the eight men were carrying any weapons or posed an imminent danger to the
police party that closed in on them. Were they about to surrender, having run
out of options, when they were killed? One police officer’s claim that they had
firearms and had attacked the police contradicts another officer’s version that they had no
weapons.
The Madhya Pradesh government is
understandably keen on an inquiry into the jailbreak to find out crucial
details — such as who masterminded the escape, and whether there was any
support from others in the prison or outside. Further, it should be
investigated how CCTV cameras, watchtowers and searchlights all mysteriously
failed while the undertrials were scaling two high walls one after another.
There can be no justification, however, for the government’s
stand that the encounter itself
does not require an investigation any deeper than a routine magisterial
inquiry. The Supreme Court has laid down that every police encounter has to be
probed by the Criminal Investigation Department or any other independent police
team. In this context, the condemnation by members of the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party of all those who doubt the official version is troubling. Such
doubt cannot be interpreted as support for either the ideology or the violence
perpetrated by those who escaped from prison. Instead of expecting
unquestioning acceptance from all quarters when issues of human rights and the
rule of law are involved, the State government would do well to institute a
thorough probe into the episode to quell all doubts and suspicions.
Vocabulary
Outlawed: ban; make illegal.
Example: Maryland outlawed cheap small-caliber pistols
Synonyms: ban, bar, prohibit, forbid, veto, make
illegal, proscribe, interdict
Robberies: the action of robbing a person or place.
Example: He was involved in drugs, violence, extortion, and robbery
Synonyms: burglary, theft, thievery, stealing, housebreaking
Goaded: provoke or annoy (someone) so as to stimulate some action or reaction.
Example: He goaded her on to more daring revelations
Synonyms: provoke, spur, prod, egg on, hound, badger, incite
Pursue: follow someone or something in order
to catch or attack them.
Example: The officer pursued the van
Synonyms: follow, run after, chase, hunt, stalk, track, trail, shadow, hound
Cogent: of an argument or case clear, logical, and convincing.
Example: Given the scope of Internet use by the general public, this is no longer a
relevant or cogent argument.
Synonyms: convincing, compelling, strong, forceful, powerful, potent
Imminent: about to happen.
Example: They were in imminent danger of being swept away
Synonyms: impending, close (at hand), near, (fast) approaching, coming
Perpetrated: carry out or commit (a harmful, illegal, or immoral action).
Example: A crime has been perpetrated against a sovereign state
Synonyms: commit, carry out, perform, execute, do, effect, bring
about
