Govt relief for victims of false terror arrests

Dec 10, 2011 - Rajnish Sharma |

Age Corespondent

New Delhi

In a move that could end the harassment of innocent citizens at the hands of overzealous policemen trying to crack sensitive terror cases in a hurry, the Centre is working on a comprehensive scheme that will not only provide

adequate compensation to such victims but also take stringent action, including criminal proceedings, against erring policemen.
It proposes to cover not just the police but all agencies, including the CBI and the NIA. Besides terror cases, those involving heinous crime will be covered as well.
Highly-placed sources said the Centre had taken serious note of at least two such recent cases: the Mecca Masjid and Malegaon blasts, where innocent people were booked on terror charges. Subsequently the evidence against them turned out to be flimsy. In the Mecca Masjid case, the Andhra government gave compensation of `70 lakhs for the victims some days ago; in the Malegaon case the NIA did not oppose bail for the suspects earlier apprehended by the Maharashtra ATS as there was no sufficient evidence of their involvement.
Three ministries — law and justice; home affairs and minority affairs — are brainstorming on this scheme, after which it will be placed before the Cabinet.
“No amount of compensation can clear the stigma of a person labelled a terrorist,” a senior official noted. One proposal is for the Centre to issue a character certificate for those who get wrongly implicated, which might help them get a job in future.

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