Administration played a key role in Bhadarsa arson: report

“Even after two weeks of the violence no FIR has been registered by the administration, which is forcing families to get rid of circumstantial evidence from the site instead of compensating them for losses,” says Rihaai Manch fact-finding group from Azamgarh.

It was found that the sectarian violence was planned and well-coordinated, performed with the assistance of the local administration with the media playing a questionable role.

The investigation team concluded that during 24^th and 26^th October Durga Puja celebrations, thousand of hooligans surrounded Muslim areas, raising communal slogans, looting and setting Muslim homes and shops on fire. A hundred homes have been burnt down and the debris are quickly being taken away. The mob also has petrol bombs with them. The locals also revealed that officials and policemen in Bhadarsa had stored huge quantities of Kerosene oil in Police stations before the incident. Taking statements from local leader Vinay Katiyar, the media supports the police campaign of arresting Muslims, Katiyar having said that 5 liters of Kerosene oil was distributed to each Muslim household.

The Political Action Committee was also a mute spectator to the event. Later, the Police refused to file an FIR until passages going against the administration were withheld.

There have also been many irregularities in the process of determination of compensation by the local authority Rakesh Kumar Singh. People whose losses run into lacs have been given a few thousands as compensation while those who had their homes burnt down have not been considered for any compensation. The systematic way in which Muslim businesses have been targeted is similar to the one Muslims in Gujarat suffered.

Fire brigade, police and transport department and other public services were prevented from entering the various areas. The fire brigades that did come, arrived without water and could not extinguish the fire. Para-military forces and police failed to visit Bhadarsa even though it is under-17 km of Faizabad.

The police failed to make amends to the flawed approach it applied the 24^th when the violence abated on the 25^th but resumed with much more vigor on the 26^th.

Apart from local elements like Babu Lal Yadav, men from Keshwapur, Rajepur, Baniyapur, Kevthia, Nimolia, Lalpur, etc. were among the mob.

Police’s systematic communalism can be best understood through their framing of Haji Iftekhar on charges of murder. He is a 75-year-old paralyzed man who can not even walk.

The police misbehaved with women and children in the Muslim area and arrest young boys, among whom was a 14 year old minor.

Rihaai Manch has requested the Press Council of India to take some action on the confusion the media has been creating since the violence erupted. The media has also failed to name the true culprits in its report. Naming Muslims, it’s contributed to an anti-Muslim atmosphere in the region.

The team included members from Sanjarpur and Azamgarh, namely, Masihuddin Sanjri, Ghulam Rasool,
Sharfudin, Mohammed Haroon, Shah Alam, Rajiv Singh, Anuj Shukla, Aafaq Ahmed, Shahnawaz Alam.