PUCL casts doubts on police action

On September 14,trouble began in Gopalgarh around 8 pm when two communities clashed over a piece of land. Authorities believe the two groups,Gurjjars and Meo Muslims opened fire at each other and the police,forcing the district administration to order the police to fire.

According to the PUCL,the government version of the events that lead up to the incident and the aftermath were misleading. The preliminary report stated that not only were all eight killed Meo Muslims,but 19 of the 23 injured as well. Kavita Srivastava,Rajasthan PUCL general secretary said,The fact that only the Meo Muslims have died and 19 of their community injured is intriguing if the police were,as is claimed,acting neutrally.

The PUCL report said the mosque bore evidence of extensive vandalism,which lends credence to the allegation that after the firing the mosque was captured by a section of the Gurjjar community in complicity with the police.