Speakers: Jugal Kishore Shastri, Dr. Hari Kishen, Colin Gonsalves and Arundhati Roy

1) Jugal Kishore Shastri (Mahant of Ram Janki Temple in Ayodhya/ founder, Ayodhya ki Awaz): When Muslims in Azamgarh are experiencing upward mobility, this is an attack to push them down again. He said that he has been to jail and spoken with many 'terror' accused there and can say with full confidence that most cases are false. He was witness to the manner in which five people came to the Ram Janma bhoomi complex supposedly to plant bombs. It turned out later that this was an entirely manufactured terror case.  

2) Dr. Hari Kishen (Key eye-witness to Ansal Plaza 'encounter'). He said that he saw with his own eyes that over 14-15 men came in cars and dragged out two young men and then pumped bullets into them in the basement of Ansal Plaza. He later realised that these men who had killed were Special cell men headed by Rajbir Yadav and Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma. He said that though he was not related to the two youth killed, nor knew who they were, yet, he stood up to speak the truth and fight for justice. Hindus and Muslims have to unitedly fight against this kind of injustice. 

3) Colin Gonslaves (Lawyer, Supreme Court): The NHRC keeps pleading that it cannot conduct parallel enquiry, and yet, the very basis of NHRC's existence is that it should conduct parallel investigations, and in fact it should also ask for the copies of police investigation. It is time we demanded our NHRC to be more accountable to us. He cited the example of the British system which has evolved an Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2002, where independent body gets the powers of the police and even the power to cross check the police investigation contemporaneously. We need to demand a similar system in India.

4) Arundhati Roy: Its not just the police, but the media, the state and even Bollywood which promotes this culture of police impunity, when custodial killings are justified and celebrated. The fight is for a democracy where killings are not celebrated and awarded.

All of us who raise questions are branded as 'gaddars' or anti-nationals, but the real danger to Indian democracy are those like Advani.  Not only Muslims, but tribals, and anyone who raises his / her voice against the powerful is killed. In the parliament attack case, the Judge pronounced that despite lack of evidence that the accused was a terrorist, he should hang to satisfy the collective conscience of the nation. Who creates and manufactures this collective conscience, she asked.