Days after Asad Ahmed was killed in a police encounter, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal came out in defence of the son of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed.
While speaking to ANI, Sibal tried to downplay the threat posed by Asad Ahmed to the police. “A young boy (Asad) whose age is 19, how can he threaten the security of the country?” Kabil Sibal inquired.
“If you want to catch him, then hit him on his leg or prosecute him. Why do you want to kill him?” he added. Sibal further expressed hope that the Supreme Court would take suo motu cognisance of the matter.
“The administration must be brought to task if they do not follow the law, as strictly set out by the Supreme Court,” he had stated. Although the ex-Congress leader suggested that Asad Ahmed was just ‘another 19-year-old’ boy, nothing could be further from the truth.
Kapil Sibal and the Headmaster’s son moment
Firstly, Asad Ahmed was the main accused in the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal, who was gunned down in broad daylight on February 24 this year. He was carrying a bounty of ₹5 lakhs on his head.
Secondly, SDPO Prashant Kumar had informed that Asad Ahmed was planning to break his father Atiq Ahmed out of police custody. He was planning to attack the police convoy transferring his father. Asad wanted to execute his plans when Atiq Ahmed was being brought to UP for court hearings.
When the Special Task Force of the UP Police went to nab him, Asad Ahmed fired shots at them. The cops had to resort to retaliatory firing during which the 19-year-old was neutralised.
Despite being well aware of the facts, Kapil Sibal sought to ignore them, lament the death of Asad Ahmed and insinuate that the deceased was not a security threat. This reminded netizens of a ruse once employed by ‘journalist’ Barkha Dutt to whitewash the sins of terrorist Burhan Wani.
“Breaking: Burhan Wani hizbul commander, son of school headmaster who used social media as weapon of war, killed in Anantnag. BIG STORY,” she had tried to garner sympathy for the terrorist after he was neutralised by Indian security forces.
The same playbook to portray a criminal as innocent, is in play again, this time, by Kapil Sibal.