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Journalism of Courage
A National Minority Commission team,which was in Araria on Tuesday to investigate the alleged police brutality on June 3 leading to four deaths,blamed the district administration for the incident. The team,headed by the panels chairman Wajahat Habibullah,will meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with its recommendations.
Four Muslims,including a pregnant woman and a seven-month-old child,were killed in police firing on people protesting blocking of a road due to the construction of a the boundary wall of a factory at Bhajanpur village of Forbesganj in Araria.
The factory is co-owned by Saurav Agrawal,son of BJP MLC Ashok Agrawal.
On Tuesday,the Commission ruled that the incident could have been easily averted had the district administration initiated a dialogue with Bhajanpur villagers for an alternate road.
Habibullah said: The police were not required to open fire. Bullets are no solution in democracy. Our interaction with the villagers and other parties suggest a wide communication gap between the local residents and district administration.
He said despite a dispute over the factory encroaching on the road since February,the administration did little to defuse tension.
