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Journalism of Courage
In a preliminary report, the National SC and ST Commission has said that it was the police that were primarily responsible for the lynching of Dalits in Jhajjar, that caste was not a factor and that the incident was an accident and not motivated.
8216;8216;The police killed them to hide their fault,8217;8217; Chairman of the Commission Bijoy Sonkar Shastri told The Indian Express. 8216;8216;The families of the victims came here and they told us the police wanted bribe and when they did not succeed, they killed the five Dalits.8217;8217;
Pinning responsibility on the local policemen for the lynching, Shastri said the police were aware the victims were Dalits but did nothing to save them. 8216;8216;They, in fact, helped in the lynching,8217;8217; he charged.
He also said the arrests made so far in the case were a mere eyewash while the real culprits are yet to be arrested.
The Commission believes the victims8217; caste was not a factor at all in their being targeted by an 8216;8216;ordinary8217;8217; mob and that the incident was an 8216;8216;accident8217;8217; and 8216;8216;not motivated8217;8217;.
8216;8216;Anti-social elements8217;8217; helped by the police created an atmosphere of suspicion by spreading rumours that five men had killed cows, provoking a crowd of people returning from a fair, Shastri said. 8216;8216;The people did not attack the five men because they knew that they were Dalits but because they were told that they had killed cows,8217;8217; he added.
Asked whether there was any evidence of the VHP inciting the crowd, Shastri said: 8216;8216;No such evidence has been found.8217;8217;
Though a comprehensive report is yet to be prepared, among the recommendations the Commission has made are compensation for the Dalit families, action against the police and guidelines to avoid a repeat of the incident.
Shastri was a BJP MP from Varanasi before he joined the Commission as its chairman. 8216;8216;I am also from the SC/ST and during my term as MP, always kept their interests in mind,8217;8217; he said.
