They didn’t even have to read the messages scrawled on their burnt walls, threatening them with murder and their wives and daughters with rape if they dared to come back. Four refugees who visited their village, Panwad, yesterday to see how badly damaged their houses was, were attacked by a mob. One of them Hasan Suleman Soni is lying in hospital in a critical condition. These unlucky four formed the second batch of refugees who ventured back to their village to see if they could get back to their normal lives. They were among the 450 forced to flee when a 2,000-strong mob ringed their neighbourhood on March 11. All of them are now counting their days in the nearby Chhotaudepur relief camp. Deputy Superintendent of Police K N Damor told The Indian Express today that the refugees ‘‘did not notify the police’’ about their plans to visit their homes. And even when they reached Panwad, they did not inform the police outpost there, he said. It’s not sure if this would have helped. For, last month, another group of refugees, escorted by the police, had returned to assess the damage. They were attacked, too. Soni was found lying in the middle of the road when the police outpost contacted the Chhotaudepur Police Station and asked for reinforcements.The police chased away the mob. Damor said he asked the refugees who accompanied Soni to identify the tribals who pelted stones at them. ‘‘No arrests could be made because the injured did not give any names,’’ he said. Not a single Muslim house in the village is intact.As reported in The Indian Express yesterday, messages written on the walls warn Muslims not to come back. The walls covered with graffiti threaten that women will be raped, some will be ‘‘cut into pieces.’’
