Skip to main content

Flouting of law and order: Arrests in Khatauli, setting free Muzaffarnagar riots accused, extra-judicial killings

Counterview Desk
An Insaaf Yatra was organised by Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD) on 31st March 2018 in Uttar Pradesh. Those who were on the fact-finding mission were Muzaffarn Ovais Sultan Khan, human rights activist and Managing Trustee of ANHAD; AC Michael, former member, Delhi Minorities Commission; Md. Faizan Alam, social activist, Meha Khanduri, human rights activist; Syed Ravish Alam and other social and human rights activists from Delhi, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli. A note:
An Insaaf Yatra was organized by ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy) on 31st March 2018 to Muzaffarnagar and Shamli to:
  1. Express solidarity with the families and children in Khatauli who had been arrested and jailed unlawfully 
  2. Protest the state government’s move to erase 131 cases against those accused of 2013 Muzaffarnagar pogrom  
  3. And to protest the spate of extra judicial killings in the State
The delegation first met with multiple Muslim residents of Khatauli and heard about incidents to provoke lawlessness. The residents narrated that processions with weapons were being taken out on Hindu religious holidays to intimidate them and provoke riots. The residents also complained of an indifferent administration which turned a blind eye to such provocation, and the arrest of many Muslim including journalists had been arrested by the police on flimsy charges. The members also discussed detailed facts on the case of 4 minor children being arrested and jailed with adults since December 2017.
The Insaaf Yatra went on to Muzaffarnagar to express solidarity with the protests being organized by the Uttar Pradesh National Alliance for People’s Movements and other civil society organizations against erasure of the criminal cases of Muzaffarnagar pogrom accused. They also met residents of Muzaffarnagar and discussed the local law and order issues. The members of the Insaaf Yatra gave the representatives of the government a memorandum and went on to Kandhla to meet the residents and evaluate the situation post the 2013 pogrom.
The delegation was shocked by the tales of lawlessness, intimidation of Muslim residents, and shocking flouting of law and order by the police. The Insaaf Yatra strongly condemns the arrest of the minor children in Khatauli and being jailed with adults instead of juvenile homes and calls for strict action to be taken against the police and the judge who has abused the rights of children.
The delegation also expressed a strong protest on the state government’s move of withdrawing 131 criminal cases against those accused of riots, murders and dacoity. These are heinous crimes and the guilt, or the innocence of the accused should be decided by the judicial process only. Letting them free without the due process of law is an insult to the Indian judiciary and Constitution as well as the rights of the victims. The members of the delegation have decided to further carry out rallies, protests at local and national level too.
It was specially horrifying hearing about the fake encounters and that pressure being exerted by the police on the families of the victims to withdraw their demands for judicial inquiry. Extra judicial murders have no space in a lawful democracy and we demand independent judicial inquiries into all such encounters. In case of them being proved as murders, the policemen who have been involved in such encounters should be arrested and punished by a court of law. The delegation calls for a strong civil society response against these illegal acts by the police and a national and international campaign to stop the misuse of the law and order machinery.

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Sections of BSF, BGB personnel 'directly or indirectly' involved in cross border smuggling

By Kirity Roy*  The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Bangladesh met for 54th Director General level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5th to 9th March, 2024 to discuss on minimizing killings at border area, illegal intrusion, trafficking of drugs and other narcotics, smuggling of arms and ammunitions and other crimes at bordering areas. Further, the summit had an agenda to discuss on overall development in 150 yards area at both sides of the border and design an activity plan for the same.