Page 58 - Veritas

inferred that the place could have been under police surveillance, which

was why the force rushed to the resort, and the encounter took place. The

resort employees indicated that it was the police and not the Maoists who
fired first.

The CCTV footage more or less supported the resort manager’s version of

the story. Owing to the different information given by the police and the
resort owners, speculations of a fake encounter began surfacing.
The inquest report dated 8th March 2019 revealed three bullets were pres-

ent in Jaleel’s body, with one of the bullets penetrating from the back of

his head to the front, which proved fatal. Apart from this, the following
items were retrieved from near the body:
1. A conventional firearm

2. Eight bullets

3. A detonator

The forensic ballistics report came out on 28th September 2020, strength-

ening the doubt on the police operation. The report revealed that the fire-

arm, allegedly belonging to Jaleel, was not fired on the very day. Also, the
swab from Jaleel’s right hand showed no gunshot residue.

The police immediately set out to clarify the findings, stating that though

no gunshot residue was found from the right hand, metal lead was detect-
ed from the left hand and that the two empty cartridges found at the crime
scene did not match with any of the weapons forwarded for examination.

They further indicated the necessity to examine the firearms of those Mao-

ists who managed to escape from police.

Jaleel’s family believed that the shots were deliberate. C. P. Rasheed and

C.P Jishad, Jaleel’s brothers, claimed the police could have shot below the

waist if needed. Jishad laid stress on the forensic report, claiming how gun-
shot residue was not found from the swab, with Jaleel being right-handed.
A magisterial inquiry launched after the rise of allegations predominant-

ly supported the police version. Nevertheless, Jaleel’s family and human

rights activists claimed the inquiry report gave a clean chit to the police and
demanded a judicial inquiry. The inquiry did not put weight on the forensic

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