Author: Rajeev R Roy / SP Singh/
Sardhana / Meerut
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: June 24, 2004
Sardhana, the renowned pilgrimage
situated 25- kms from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, is lying bruised and battered.
The holy township, in the grip of communal hatred, has seen an exodus of
over 5000 people since the bloodbath began on Saturday afternoon.
Six people have been butchered
and many others have gone missing from this town from where the famous
church of St Mary has been spreading the message of communal harmony for
the past 180 years and more.
Even though the people of the town
heaved a sigh of relief when curfew was first clamped on Saturday evening,
many felt insecure and blamed the police for the communal unrest. The curfew
was relaxed for six hours on Wednesday only to assess the people's mood.
"The present crisis should be attributed
to the utter failure of the police administration. After the gory murder
of Bobby on Friday night, the police should have taken preventive steps.
It didn't. As a result, another murder took place on Saturday, worsening
the situation," said none other than Abdul Wahid Qureshi, a veteran local
leader of the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP).
Mr Qureshi is alleged to be in the
thick of things leading to the fatal attack on one Baljeet and others.
The locals claimed the shots were fired from his house on Banoli Road,
an allegation which Mr Qureshi dismissed as a "baseless" and said such
charges were being orchastrated by his political opponents.
"I have always helped people irrespective
of their creed. The door of my house is open to all. If the responsibility
is to be fixed, it should be fixed on the local administration that bothered
the least to control the situation," he claimed.
The words of Mr Waheed have few
takers. "Ever since Munnawar Hussain was elected from the Muzaffarnagar
constituency, things have turned from bad to worse. Recently, in a private
meeting, he had said his every supporter is a Munnawar Hussain and threatened
that he would send the concerned police official to Kalapani if he dared
to touch him.
Had there been no such threat, Shailendra
Pratap Singh, the circle officer (CO) could have averted the cold-blooded
murder of Baljeet," Rakesh Tyagi, a local resident, said. "The whole incident
needs to be thoroughly probed by an independent agency to establish the
truths. I won't name any politicians, but the way Baljeet was killed raises
certain questions. Why didn't the police react when his throat was being
allegedly slit? Why did the police officials let the gory incident took
place?" asked Bashiruddin, 67.
"We will welcome if the Government
sets up an inquiry committee, but there is no point in dragging Muunnawar
Hussain's name into the incident. He represents all the people of his constituency,
and he can't stoop so low. In fact, he is distressed and dismayed over
the incident," Vinod Singh, the chief of the Meerut unit of the Samajwadi
Yuvjan Sabha, said.
Five people who lost their lives
in the rule of a regime committed to providing "security and prestige"
by making Uttar Pradesh "an Uttam Pradesh" have been identified as Bobby,
20, his maternal uncle Baljeet, 40, Aslam 20, Farman 23, and Sahib Singh
36. The identity of one could not be established. "Only the murders of
Bobby and Baljeet are related to the prevailing crisis," RK Tiwari, IG,
Meerut Range, said.
Mr Tiwari, along with other senior
officials, have been camping in Saradhana to ensure the situtation does
not spiral out of control. "The situation is tense, but under control with
over 2500 security personnel keeping watch on every development," Mr Tiwari
said. Without mincing words about the lapse on the part of the local administration,
Mr Tiwari said: "The lapse was obvious. Which is why many officials have
been suspended. Further investigations are on.
No one will be allowed to take law
into their own hands. We are keeping a watch on the peripheral villages
as well." Sensing the gravity of the problem, the administration has identified
at least 21 villages as sensitive and have put them under constant watch.
"We have made seven points. Each point has a Magistrate to cover three
villages," Mr Tiwari said. Such villages include Nawabgarhi, Kapsar, Mura,
Aterna, Chhitkali, Kapsar, Dhamori and Pulajor.
"Since the rumour mills are working
overtime, churning out all sorts of nonsense stuff to the people, we can't
ill-afford to be complacent. Unscrupulous elements are at work at every
level. We have arrested 85 people including 10 active crimimals," Mr Tiwari
added. The main accused in the Bobby murder case, Babu Khan, has been arrested.
