17, Sep 2009

http://www.mid-day.com/epaper/index.htm
September 17, 2009

‘I think Modi hates Muslims’

Nusarrat Jahan knows it’s going to be a long and lonely battle ahead in the fight to punish her sister Ishrat’s killers. She tells MiD DAY she’s ready to move heaven and earth

By: Daipayan Halder

Now that a metropolitan court at Ahmedabad has ruled Ishrat was killed in a staged encounter, do you feel vindicated?
I can’t tell you how big a relief it is. All these years we lived with not just the pain of Ishrat’s death, but also the stain
of being a terrorist’s family. We are grateful to the court for clearing my sister’s name.

The ruling has created a huge embarrassment for the Gujarat government. What do you want now?
My sister was butchered, but her killers are roaming free. We have been waiting for justice for a long time. We want her name to be cleared and all those involved in the frame-up to be punished.

Gujarat CM Narendra Modi has come under severe attack for the fake encounter. Your reaction.
I think Modi hates Muslims. We never had any expectations from the Gujarat government. But we have faith in the judiciary. The judges will be unbiased unlike the Gujarat government and punish Ishrat’s killers.

Are you hinting that the Gujarat government was behind the conspiracy?
It does seem like that. How could the police carry out something like this without the state government being aware of it?