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The Bharatiya Janata Party said on Thursday that those who question the authenticity of the shootout in Delhi's Ansal Plaza, in which two men allegedly belonging to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba were killed, must do so on the basis of facts.
A doctor, Hari Krishna, who witnessed the shootout, has claimed that the slain men were unarmed and appeared to be heavily sedated.
"When important persons lend their names to discredit the security agencies, particular when the security agencies succeed in saving innocent civilians from terrorists, they must be sure of their facts," BJP spokesman Arun Jaitely said.
Rajya Sabha member and noted journalist Kuldip Nayar had approached the National Human Rights Commission and requested an inquiry into the shootout.
"The police have done a commendable job in liquidating the militants. They were armed. The police have claimed that they had intelligence that the two terrorists were aiming at soft targets on the eve of diwali," Jaitely said.
He said during the past 10-12 years, around 48,000 kg of RDX have been seized, "which is enough to destroy every inch of Indian soil".
No Indian has come forward to claim the bodies of the two men, he said, adding they were "Pakistani nationals".
"If this discrediting of the security forces is done by some so-called human rights activists without any basis... [it is] bringing a bad name to human rights," he said.
The spokesman said, "The police have done an exemplary job of liquidating the terrorists."
Jaitely said two things are necessary to fight terrorism. The first is that "you must empower the police with legitimate power", and secondly "you must have a proper human rights mechanism to check abuse of power".
He said if the security forces were not given adequate powers to cope with terrorism, they would obviously resort to things outside their purview, which would lead to abuse of powers.
Asked if human rights organisations in India should be banned, he replied in the negative. "They are only checked by credibility and public opinion."
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