The Supreme Court, which has taken charge of all cases pertaining to the Muzaffarnagar riots, can arrive at the truth behind the violence by directing television channels, namely, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, and Times Now, which exposed the role played by the Uttar Pradesh administration and political leaders, to provide the original unedited video recordings of their respective sting operations.
Given the widespread loss of confidence in the State administration, a CBI enquiry into the incident which sparked off the communal rioting would have greater credibility. Hopefully, the Supreme Court may give a ruling on October 17, on an intervention made by the Supreme Court Bar Association.
Tensions remain high in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining districts of Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut, and other rural areas of western Uttar Pradesh, as the administration is arresting members of one community in connection with the riots, even though it is prima facie the wronged community. Besides arresting persons named in FIRs as being present during rioting in various places, complaints are piling up of police harassing young men in the age group of 15 to 35 years by threatening to implicate them in riot cases, and making hay while the sun shines.
Since political leaders have been barred from visiting the afflicted area, it is impossible to get reliable statistics about actual and threatened arrests in the affected villages. Only Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was allowed to visit the area, essentially to ferry Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi to exclusively minority relief camps in order to burnish their pro-minority image and protect their vote banks. This has aggravated the sense of alienation of the Hindu community, as also its grassroots harassment.
Media reports show that while Opposition party leaders are being arrested (BJP MLAs Suresh Rana, Sangeet Som, and BSP MLA Noor Salim Rana), the ruling Samajwadi Party members are treated with kid gloves despite spewing venom during and after the riots. So far, no action has been taken against a minister caught in a sting-operation in reference to the riots. In fact, after a panchayat was held at Khera village, Meerut, on September 29, to protest the arrest of Sangeet Som under provision of the stringent National Security Act, his brother was also arrested and cases filed against his wife.
A dispassionate analysis of events relating to the riots shows that on September 17, several leading television channels telecast reports to the effect that on the instructions of senior Ministers of the UP Government, the details in the first information reports (FIRs) were changed or altered by the State Police. This establishes the complicity and involvement of the administration in instigating the riots.
The crucial point, however, is the point of origin of the troubles. It is now fairly well established that on August 27, a young girl from village Malikpura was eve-teased while on her way to Inter-college by two youths from Kawal village, tehsil Jansath, Muzaffarnagar district. Her family members, a cousin and an uncle, confronted the alleged culprit, who died as a result of the ensuing conflict; the duo was brutally murdered in retaliation. This triggered the rioting.
The District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police, who acted promptly and registered cases against the actual culprits, were swiftly transferred and the real culprits released due to political interference by the State Government. Worse, the complaint was altered to show the name of only one individual, though the original complaint was lodged against many persons. To add insult to injury, the administration arrested the parents of the duo who had been lynched to death.
Three days later, on August 30, senior officers of the district held a meeting with the religious leaders of one community, while Section 144 was in force; this had a demoralizing effect on others. Prominent among those who attended are Bahujan Samaj Party MP (Muzaffarnagar) Qadir Rana, SP leader Rashid Siddiqui, Congress leader Saeedujjama and BSP MLA Noor Salim Rana.
On August 31, the other side held a panchayat and demanded action against the killers of the two youth and the removal of the Shamli police chief for alleged one-sided action. A local BJP leader, Sadhvi Prachi, called for the protection of the honour of mothers, sisters and daughters.
As tensions ran high, the Bharatiya Kisan Union called for a mahapanchayat on September 7 at Nagla Mandaur village, about 20 kms from Muzaffarnagar City. In the interim period, the violence spread to adjoining areas, and a fake video went viral. The day before the mahapanchayat, the Director General of Police and senior officers visited Muzaffarnagar and urged the leaders to call off the meeting; Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code was imposed, but no serious attempts were made to stop the gathering from taking place.
When the mahapanchayat met on September 7, no senior official attended, thus confirming suspicions that mischief was afoot. Participants were attacked at Basee village en route to the panchayat. While returning from the mahapanchayat, IBN7 journalist Rajesh Verma and state police photographer Israr were killed in the violence, along with others; ultimately the Army was called to restore order. This drew the attention of the national media to hitherto ignored incidents of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh from the time that the Samajwadi Party came to power 18 months ago. The very next day, a scheduled caste woman was raped in Shamli.
In the sting operation by television channels on September 17, the sub divisional magistrate (SDM) and police circle officer of Jansath tehsil confirmed that FIRs were changed at the behest of political masters. It is pertinent that even when cases were registered in connection with violation of Section 144, the FIRs were lodged only against members of Opposition parties. Thus, all evidence points to the complicity of the State administration in the riots. Hence there is little confidence in investigations by State agencies.
A serious investigation must begin with the original tapes of the sting operation by television channels, and by reconstructing the original FIRs filed after the first three deaths on August 27. Only then can justice be done and seen to be done.
Niticentral.com, 2 October 2013
http://www.niticentral.com/2013/10/02/muzaffarnagar-riots-the-hidden-truth-140438.html