President meets Saharanpur clash victims, CPM says he assured action

“When we met the President today, he indicated in no uncertain terms that what had happened in Saharanpur was absolutely shocking and that he would take whatever appropriate action he can within the Constitutional framework,” Karat said after the meeting. Four persons from Shabbirpur village met the President.

Rajkumar, the brother of Shabbirpur village pradhan Shiv Kumar who was arrested after the clashes between Dalits and Thakurs on May 5, said that before the clashes, his brother frantically called the police, district magistrate and sub-divisional magistrate. “But only the police from the local station reached the village. Police personnel from outside stopped from entering the village and 2,000-2,500 people from the Thakur community… and from Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and RSS surrounded the village and did not let the police enter,” Rajkumar said.

Karat said that in Uttar Pradesh today, the only law being imposed was by the RSS and the Hindu Yuva Vahini. “The law is of the RSS, the orders of the RSS along with that of the Hindu Yuva Vahini…. The issue of Shabbirpur village and the plight of Dalits today is symbolic of what is happening all over the state,” she said.

“No compensation has been given, no justice has been given to one set of people whose village has been absolutely devastated by the casteist attack,” Karat said. “Today in the village all the adult men have fled because they have (registered) an open FIR. Why was the police a silent spectator? When the village pradhan himself had rung up the police and the DM…. No action was taken, therefore the police also is responsible for the continuing violence against the Dalits,” Karat said. “We have demanded compensation and withdrawal of false cases.”

Ali said since May 5, the “administration had been behaving in a very arbitrary fashion. They are blaming the Dalits for all that has happened…. There is an atmosphere of terror (in the village).”