Total amnesia

Speedily prosecute the guilty: That was the recommendation of an inquiry committee set up to look into the post-Maliana riots of 1987. The s...

Speedily prosecute the guilty: That was the recommendation of an inquiry committee set up to look into the post-Maliana riots of 1987. The sentence comes back to mock us today. Nothing has moved in the case involving the brutal massacre of 40 young men from the Muslim-dominated neighbourhood of Hashimpura, near Meerut, allegedly by the personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary PAC. The Supreme Court, concerned about the deliberately lackadaisical approach adopted by the Uttar Pradesh government in its handling of the case, had it transferred to a sessions court in Delhi. But the glacial pace at which it is moving is a chronicle of the death of justice, foretold.

Nothing surprising here, of course. A police study into riot cases over a 42-year time frame, from 8217;54 and 8217;96 revealed that while 16,000 people lost their lives and one lakh were grievously injured, only an insignificant minuscule of the attackers actually found their way into the arms of the law. It is data like this that had emboldened the Gujarat state government to argue before the Supreme Court that the lack of action in the Best Bakery case should surprise no one given the shortcomings of the country8217;s criminal justice system that allows rioters to go unpunished. The observation had famously provoked a sharp comment from then chief justice of the Supreme Court, who went on to state that it was the 8220;rajdharma8221; of every government to ensure that justice is done in cases like this. A principle that every institution, from constitutional bodies and the police to the media, would do well to keep in mind.

The very fact that the PAC personnel accused in this case had been liberally allowed bail and have even been given their old jobs back, testifies to the extraordinary political clout they enjoyed and the near invisibility of the murdered young men whose bodies had surfaced in the local Ganga Canal to the nation8217;s horror. The fact that one of these policemen actually had the temerity to murder three of his PAC colleagues while on bail is symptomatic of the high level of brutalisation that has characterised this force. Not only should justice for Maliana8217;s victims be pursued energetically, the PAC needs to be thoroughly overhauled and reformed.