By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI – The brutal targeting of Muslims and the attacks on their houses and properties by the police, instigated by the violent Hindu mobs, after an incident of alleged stone-throwing by some children during a festival in Gujarat’s Surat city recently has revealed the dangerous communalization of the police force. A fact-finding report has exposed the state-sponsored mobocracy during the incident when the mob in Surat forced the administration to take anti-Muslim actions.
The fact-finding report, prepared by the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) of Gujarat, has provided the disturbing details of the incident on September 8, when a Ganesh Pandal was set up 50 to 100 metres from the Variavi Bazar police station in Surat, and its aftermaths. Allegedly, 5 to 6 Muslim children aged 8 to 10 years arrived in an auto rickshaw, driven by a Hindu, and threw stones at the Ganesh Pandal, hitting the drums placed there.
The children were apprehended by the public and handed over to the police. Instead of taking them to the nearby Variavi Bazar police station, the police took them to the Sayyedpura police station, about 250 to 300 metres away. The first information report registered on September 9 in this connection has named the children as the accused, and the case has been filed under sections 189(1), 189(2), 190, 298, and 299 of Indian Penal Code.
A crowd of Hindus gathered at Sayyedpura police station, mobilized by Hindu community leaders via phone. The crowd repeatedly chanted demands such as handing over the children to the mob, demolishing the houses of Muslims, and other aggressive calls. Surat North MLA Kanti Balar, Mahila Morcha leader Sezal Ben, Corporator Rakesh Mali, Aartiben Patel, Mayor Dakshesh Bhai Mavani, and other leaders also arrived and gave provocative speeches through a microphone.
MLA Kanti Balar, addressing the crowd in the presence of the police, said: “No Muslim will be spared, I am with you, those who have been caught will not be released, we will not engage in stone pelting, and we don’t want to do this either.” After this, a police officer whispered something to the MLA, who then said: “Repeated stone pelting at any place will not be tolerated; I am with you, and the Bharatiya Janata Party is with you.”
Following the inflammatory speeches by the MLA and other leaders, the mob vandalized and burned vehicles and carts of Muslims selling snacks. The crowd continued to shout for the children to be handed over and later pelted stones at Muslim houses and mosques. When the crowd was forming, members of the Muslim community contacted police officers with the request for protective measures. The police arrived but remained passive.
Alongside the Sayyedpura police station, the mob also damaged and burned Muslim-owned vehicles parked near Khair Tea Centre in front of Patel Paubhaji at Katar Gam Darwaza. This occurred in the presence of the police, according to the fact-finding report.
Gujarat Minister of State for Home Affairs Harsh Sanghvi visited the site of the incident at Variavi Bazaar and, addressing the media, promised that the accused would be arrested before sunrise. Later that night, around 2 a.m., the police entered the Muslim area of Sayyedpura. They forcibly broke the main gate of Al Ilaf Apartment, entered the flats, abused the women and children, and detained the men.
The policemen then proceeded to Roshan Park Apartment under the pretext of going to the terrace, and also took away the men while beating them. When the women inquired about the reason for the arrests, they were abused. During this time, the police also stole the CCTV DVR, which recorded their actions.
The police reported the incident as having occurred at 9:45 p.m. on September 8. All the detainees were arrested in the early hours of September 9, but the FIR was only registered at 6:30 a.m. on the same day, in which it is written that a crowd of Muslims gathered and they carried out vandalism. On the other hand, the video showed the crowd of Hindus being instigated by the leaders.
In the first FIR, 27 Muslim people have been named and a crowd of 200-300 has been written. The second FIR, in which a crowd of 70 to 80 people has been accused of vandalizing vehicles, does not mention any of the accused by name. In this FIR, three Hindu persons were arrested and granted bail.
On September 9, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Surat police officials, and Corporation officials performed Aarti at the Ganesh Pandal near the Variavi Bazaar police station. Subsequently, the administration demolished tea and snack carts and temporary shops near the Sayyedpura police station using a bulldozer.
The police produced the accused in court on September 10 at 4 p.m. During this time, the police severely beat the accused, rendering them unable to walk properly, and did not permit them to meet their family members.
Narrating the facts of the chain of events, the report asked if the incident occurred near Variavi Bazar police station, why were the children taken to Sayyedpura Police Station instead. The driver of the auto rickshaw, in which the children were traveling, was Hindu. Why was he not arrested? The distance between the location of the incident (Variavi Bazar Main Road) and Al Ilaf Apartment, where people were apprehended after doors were broken, is approximately 500 to 700 metres. This raises questions about the validity of the stone-pelting allegations.
The individuals were detained around 2 a.m., but the FIR was only registered at 6:30 a.m. on September 9. This suggests that the case might have been fabricated to target Muslims. All the detained individuals were found at home. If they were guilty, why were they at home instead of being involved in the incident, asked the report.
No action has been taken against the police officers who confiscated the CCTV DVRs from the apartments and roadside cameras. The Ganesh Pandal where the stones were allegedly thrown is located on the main road with no construction nearby. This raises doubts about where the stones came from, suggesting the story may be fabricated.
Besides, no action has been taken against MLA Kanti Balar, who gave a provocative speech in front of the police. No action has been taken against the individuals who mobilized the crowd at the Sayyedpura police station. Those who vandalized and burned vehicles were not arrested, nor were any serious charges filed against them.
No action has been taken against those responsible for allowing the crowd to form and engage in violence. Moreover, no action has been taken against the police officers and staff who brutally beat the individuals who were detained.
On the basis of the facts of the incident, the report has demanded that an FIR should be registered against the police personnel who entered the houses without proper authority or an FIR at the time of detainment. The authority and order for such actions should be investigated. An FIR should be registered immediately against the policemen responsible for breaking the doors and windows of the houses.
An FIR should be registered immediately against the policemen who entered the houses and abused the women and children present. An FIR should be registered against the policemen who stole the CCTV DVRs from the apartments and roadside locations. An FIR should be registered immediately against Surat North BJP MLA Kanti Balar for giving an inflammatory speech in front of the police, and he should be arrested, stated the fact-finding report.
If the incident occurred near Variavi Bazar police station, the reason for transferring the children to Sayyedpura police station should be investigated to determine if it was intended to harass Muslims. The mobile phones of Hindu community leaders who mobilized the crowd at Sayyedpura police station should be examined. An FIR should be registered against them for inciting mob violence.
The report demanded payment of compensation to the owners of all damaged and burned vehicles, trucks, and property, including doors and windows of houses. The police officers and employees who brutally beat the detained individuals should be arrested, and an FIR should be registered against them. The report stated that in view of the suspicions surrounding the incident, a fair and impartial investigation should be conducted by a sitting judge of the High Court.
The members of the fact-finding team were Ghulam Saber Ghulam Rasool Malek (Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind-Arshad Madani, Surat), senior leader of Surat district Shabbir Hameed Malek, social activist Moin Memon, lawyer Dawood J. Sheikh, and Mujahid Nafees, convener, MCC, Gujarat.
The MCC has been established to bring the minority society pushed on the margins to the mainstream of society. In Gujarat, the State Government talk about ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ but discrimination is normally seen with the minority communities, while the lack of basic facilities in their localities and the questions of protection always remain.
The objective behind the formation of MCC is to understand, analyze the prevalent inequality, discrimination and untouchability against the minorities, study the constitutional provisions for the rights of minorities, raise the consciousness of the community and advocating with the government regarding the issues of minorities. The MCC was formed on December 18, 2016 in Ahmadabad, Gujarat, on the International Minority Rights Day.
