Journalism of Courage
A report of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) that visited Muzaffarnagar on September 19 after the riots has put the UP government in the dock. The commission concluded that transfer of DM Surendra Singh and SSP Manzil Saini within hours of the incidents at Kawaal village,where three persons were killed,seemed hasty and detrimental to law and order.
Muzaffarnagar’s Muslim women seek safety through marriage
At Kawaal,two men,Gaurav and Sachin,killed one Shah Nawaz after a quarrel and both were lynched by villagers on August 27. The government transferred Singh and Saini.
BJP MLA arrested for making hate speech
In the report,NCM Chairman Wajahat Habibullah stated the new incumbents were said to be new to the districts. The commission stated that fortunately,that now stands remedied and NCM would commend the present incumbents for grip and understanding of the current challenges faced by the public and the administration.
Rape complaints registered across all violence-hit areas
But the initial spark was lit in the villages and so,because of an apparent lack of preparedness at that level,it became a rural riot, the report,posted on the commissions website on Sunday,said.
Father grieving death of son pulled Meerut back from brink
The commission concluded that the Mahapanchayat at Nangla Mandaur on September 17 should not have been allowed. During its visit,the administration explained its inability to prevent it,despite engaging with the Jat leadership but the explanation was unacceptable.
Having said that,it needs to be added that Jats were agitated and a confrontation between them and the police could have seen considerable blood spillage. It is regrettable that MLAs addressed the gathering and did little to calm passions, the commission stated.
The commission said,Although there appears to have been effective administrative intervention at Jan Sabha in Muzaffarnagar on August 30 by then newly appointed DM Kaushal Raj Sharma,the mahapanchayat appears to have seen a supine police response.
The commission has found that fake videos (of alleged Taliban atrocities in Afghanistan) are said to have been displayed at Jat gatherings and the mahapanchayat,and disseminated across the district and neighbouring areas,leading to violence on September 7. Such misuse of ICT can now go viral through cell phones. Hence,the need for training in law enforcement agencies to regulate this phenomenon, it stated.
The commission said the situation in Muzaffarnagar city was controlled well (with aid of the army),with minimum damage to property. The commission reported Jats were blaming the government for tying the hands of police and manoeuvring FIRs against Jats. Muslims complained of failure of the administration to protect them,and police hostility.
Keeping in view past experiences and reports of various entities following major communal clashes,it is imperative the investigation be thorough and no offender,whatever his community or social standing,be allowed to walk free. Only such accountability can help restore confidence so tragically eroded in the whole region, the commission said.
