Houses burnt, people attacked in police presence: Petition

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3

A petition filed in a communal violence case has brought out that police did not act when members of a minority community were attacked in Palwal district’s Tikri Brahman village on July 5.

Mohammad Haneef and four other residents of Tikri Brahman, in their petition, claimed houses were burnt and people attacked in the presence of the police in the July 5 violence, video recorded by some persons. To make matters worse, the petitioners claimed members of the minority community were allegedly projected as assailants and FIRs registered against them.

Taking up the petition, Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu has already put Haryana, Palwal Superintendent of Police (SP) and a Station House Office (SHO) on notice. Justice Sidhu has fixed November 5 as the next date of hearing.

Punjab former Advocate-General Rajinder Singh Cheema and advocate Arshdeep Singh Cheema claimed on the petitioners’ behalf there was “a planned and sustained campaign to isolate, victimise and terrorise members of the minority community in Tikri Brahman village, in particular, and in the areas surrounding that village, in general”.

The Cheemas added an organised and systematically planned attack was carried out on the victims. Contemporaneously, the administration did not take pre-emptive action though it was aware of “emerging potentially explosive situation”. It was either “indifferent”, or remained a “mere bystander”. On July 5 day, the houses of people belonging to the minority community were attacked and burnt. Goods were looted, and vehicles and valuables set ablaze. The minority community, in self-defence, pelted the attackers with stones.

The Cheemas further added the FIRs on complaints furnished by the majority community were registered a day later than the complaints lodged by the minority community. All this made it clear the complaints were lodged by the majority community in defence with an ulterior motive of systematically pressurising and blackmailing the minority community to withdraw complaints. In all, 31 FIRs were registered against the minority community without the pre-registration inquiry.

Seeking deployment of “centralised security establishment” to defuse tension and restore peace, the petitioners added directions was also required to be issued to the state to transfer investigation to the CBI forthwith to ensure independent, objective and impartial probe under the direct monitoring of the High Court.

“The role of government functionaries before the riot, during the riot and in the subsequent period to help the wrongdoers must also be inquired into,” the petitioners added.