Syed Sujeel Ahmed | India Tomorrow
BENGALURU— A detailed report filed by a team of ‘Civil Society Fact-Finding Team’, a coalition of more than 11 civil society organizations, indicated that the August 11 Bengaluru violence was a result of delay by the police to act on the complaints against the derogatory Facebook post and a spontaneous reaction. The report was released on Wednesday in a virtual press conference and addressed by the retired Karnataka High Court judge Justice Nagamohan Das, among others.
The report is, however, yet to be submitted to the government.
Narrating the sequence of events that led to the violence, the report states that members of two small delegations from Muslim community had reached the D.J.Halli and K.G Halli police stations in Bengaluru East between 7 to 7.30 pm on the fateful night. They wanted to lodge complaints against P Naveen Kumar for posting incendiary and derogatory photos on Prophet Muhammed on his Facebook page that day at about 5.30 pm. However, the police appeared to be “confused, lost and scared.”
The report says, “By all accounts the initial crowds at the police stations were peaceful.”
“On account of the perceived delay (which lasted till around 12.30 am) in registration of the FIRs and police action against Naveen crowds began to gather and increased at both police stations…attacked Naveen’s house, and the MLA Akhanda Shrinivas Murthy’s house”, points out the report.
According to the report, the police had not just failed to act on the complaint against Naveen, but they had also failed to stop violence and arson at Kaval Byrasandra, where Murthy’s and his nephew Naveen’s houses are located. The report says, “As per Naveen’s family, they had called (the police) but the police did not answer the phone and at between 8.30 pm to 9 pm, three policemen came but left when the violence began. Thereafter, the crowd also attacked the MLA’s house between 9.15 pm and 10 pm and the situation was only brought under control at around 1.30 am.”
According to the report, Chairman of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission, Abdul Azeem, was also of the opinion that the situation in D.J. Halli was the outcome of “first police inaction and then extreme action.”
Violence Far From Being Pre-Planned
The report argues that the violence was not pre-planned, “There was overwhelming evidence to indicate that the violence (was) far from being pre-planned, (but it) was opportunistic and linked to local politics including the upcoming Corporation elections…used by political parties to gain political mileage in the area.”
The report further adds that there was “lack of substantial evidence” to suggest that the mob violence had specifically targeted the Hindu community. The way the violence unfolded appeared that this was “indeed a local and spontaneous incident that had been taken.”
No Leadership Directed the Mob
The report quashes the claims that SDPI leader, and ex-Corporator Muzammil Pasha, who has been arrested by the police, instigated the violence. The report says, “There seems to be no visible leadership directing the mob…”
The report goes on to add, after Muzammil Pasha had reached the police station, he “was speaking into the megaphone (at the D.J.Halli Police Station) saying action must be taken against those putting up offensive Facebook posts. This clip offered no evidence of a provocation to riots.” Muzammil Pasha “appealed to the crowd to remain calm and wait for the law to take its course,” the report mentions.
Targets of Violence Were Random Places
The targets of vandalizing and torching were random places of the area. According to the report, in Kaval Byrasandra a property belonging to a Muslim was vandalized and damaged. Rupees 1.9 lakh of a resident of the area for 40 years, Bash Khan (40), owner of a water plant, were looted by the rioters. Vehicles of Muslims were burnt, including that of the suspect Muzammil Pasha. House of a Christian family was also vandalized. The report says that the moment was also used to seek personal vendetta on some families like that of Munegowda.
Media Person, Police Station Saved by Muslims
The report says that not just a temple in Kaval Byrasandra was protected by the Muslim youths who formed human chain, but a similar human chain was formed by the Muslim youths to protect D.J.Halli Police Station. A TV journalist, Ravi, belonging to Kannada news channel, Suvarna News, who was attacked twice while reporting told the fact-finding team, “Yes, even though it were Muslims who attacked me, it were also other Muslims who protected me.”
In earlier media reports, it was reported that Naveen’s family was rescued by the Muslims. His mother and other family members were towed into a neighboring Muslim family’s home from the compound wall of Naveen’s house when the mob had started vandalizing it. The Naveen’s family took shelter in the Muslim family’s home.
Govt Silent on Investigating Naveen’s Motive of Derogatory Post
The report questioned the state government and the BJP’s silence over investigation of Naveen’s motive behind the Facebook post. The BJP or their leadership have so far never blamed Naveen or vehemently condemned his derogatory post. The report says, “As the party in power, the BJP has ensured that there is crackdown on the Muslims in the area, but is being completely silent on investigating the motivations for Naveen to post the offensive picture on Facebook. While the actual reasons behind August 11 might or might not come to light in the coming days, the BJP has definitely used this to further polarize society on communal lines.”
Post Violence Crackdowns, Midnight Arrests, Demonization of Muslims
The report has given a clear sketch of the terrifying conditions that prevailed in the violence hit Muslim areas for days during and after the curfew. Police went on to arrest Muslim youths randomly without following due procedures. Many media houses and the BJP leaders were busy demonizing the Muslim community, the report observes. The report further says, “The manner in which section 144 was imposed, has had the effect of criminalizing entire areas, which is most disturbing.”
The report says that the arrests had turned into a nightmare for the residents of the areas where police conducted raids in the middle of the night. The report says, “Consider the plight of those in Zafrulla Layout where, at around 3.30 am early morning of August 12, about 100 – 150 policemen and RAF, forced their way into people’s homes and picked a total of 30–35 men from among a cluster of 40-45 houses. This operation lasted over two hours.”
Procedural Lapses in Arrests
While carrying arrests, police neither informed the family of the arrested persons or issued any memorandum after the arrests. The families were clueless about the whereabouts of their kin who were taken away by the police in the midnight crackdowns. The report says, “The police did not inform the families why the men were being taken away and where to.” The fact-finding team had also come across scores of women waiting outside the police station during their visits. “The women we spoke to said that they were going to the K.G. Halli and D.J. Halli police stations on a daily basis to find out about those arrested,” the report mentions.
The report notes, “It is found that accused (in large numbers) were ‘produced’ before the jurisdictional magistrate through video call from the phone of a police personnel, while the accused were allegedly being held in the police station….and remanded to police custody after such ‘production’.”
Role of Magistrate Questioned
The manner in which the magistrate allowed police custody after accused were “produced” over a video call and without memorandum of arrest, the report questioned the role played by the jurisdictional magistrate by saying, “Application of mind missing in orders of magistrate for detention of accused.”
The report argues, “The Magistrate is required to ensure that the arresting officer has complied with the mandate, i.e. a member of the family of the person arrested or a respectable member of the locality where the arrest is made, is informed of his arrest and that the memorandum of arrest is duly attested by at least one witness. However, it appears that the above duty has not been followed in letter and spirit. There does not appear to be verification of arrest memos, and in fact, the Order Sheets do not even mention that arrest memos were submitted to the Learned Magistrate for verification.”
No Counsel Access to the Accused
Citing example of two cases, the report says, “The accused were denied access to lawyers of their own choice and no legal aid lawyers were provided, thereby depriving them of their fundamental right to legal representation.”
Biased and Unsubstantiated Reportage by Media
Taking note of the biased role played by many media houses, the report observes, “By all accounts, barring a few exceptions, media, print and television, English and Kannada, coverage of the events of August 11, has been biased and largely unsubstantiated. Every day was filled with hyperbole and imaginations ran wild. Unsubstantiated speculations and suspicions fueled by the Islamophobic and anti-Muslim orientation of media houses saw conspiracy theories being spun on a daily basis.” The report further adds, “Unsubstantiated and unproven allegations of the violence being communal and pre-planned, were presented in a sensational manner. Conspiracy theories changed by the day with SDPI anointed as the key conspirators on one day, to be replaced by Congress on the next, while terror links were loosely thrown around. The media has tried to create a consensus among the public that the violence involving Muslims is part of a larger ‘Islamic’ narrative.”
The Fact-Finding Team
The Fact Finding team members comprised of Nina Nayak (Former Chairperson, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and former Member, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights), Cynthia Stephen (Independent Journalist and Policy Researcher), V. Nagaraj (State Convenor, Dalita Sangharsha Samiti (Samyojaka)), Mohanraj (State Convenor, Dalita Sangharsha Samiti (Bhimavada)), Advocate Niyaz Moosa (Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Karnataka), Leo Saldhana (Co-ordinator, Environment Support Group), Geeta Menon (Stree Jagruti Samiti), Prof. YJ Rajendra (President, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka), Irshad Ahmed Desai (Movement for Justice), Manu Chowdhuri and Madhu Bhushan (Gamana Mahila Samuha), Hebbal Venkatesh (State Convenor, Dalita Sangharsha Samiti, Karnataka), Vijay Kumar Seethappa (Swaraj Abhiyan, Karnataka), Firdouse Khan (Forward Trust), Gandhimathi K (All India Progressive Women’s Association), Tanveer Ahmed (Movement for Justice), Shanmugham P (Peoples Democratic Forum), Swathi Seshadri (All India Peoples Forum), Mallige (Karnataka Jana Shakti), Alwyn D’Souza (Indian Social Institute), Dr. Siddarth Joshi (Independent Researcher), Ganesh G (People’s Democratic Forum), and Shilpa Prasad (All India Lawyers Association for Justice).
