Malegaon riots probe panel gets new lease of life

The inquiry commission, which was set up to probe the Malegaon riots of October 26, 2001 and which had become defunct due to lack of funds, ...

The inquiry commission, which was set up to probe the Malegaon riots of October 26, 2001 and which had become defunct due to lack of funds, manpower and infrastructure, has resumed work.

As the commission started working on Monday, erratic power held up much of its work on the first day. The one-man commission of Justice (Retd) K.N. Patil was to start hearings at 9.30 am but a power cut stopped it as computers failed.

Policemen on duty at the Azad Nagar police station and Killa police station on the day the riots broke out deposed before the commission on Monday. The commission has received 467 affidavits from individuals and organisations, besides 164 from the Police Department alone.

The commission, which stopped working on May 28, 2002 for want of funds and infrastructure, has now been provided with 12 staff members and Rs 6 lakh.

The commission had been appointed on November 29, 2001, to look into the riots that killed 13. It was to submit a report in six months but could not after government delay in giving funds and infrastructure. Its tenure has now been extended by six months.

The riots broke out after an altercation between an SRP jawan and a Muslim youth, who was distributing handbills in front of the Jama Masjid during Friday prayers, urging people to buy indigenous goods and boycott foreign products.