Nearly two years after the worst ever communal flare-up in the state in Muzaffarnagar, the one-member judicial commission headed by Justice (Retired) Vishnu Sahay submitted its report on the riots to Governor Ram Naik on Wednesday.
Justice (Retd.) Sahay met the Governor at the Raj Bhawan and handed over a six-volume report consisting of 775 pages. The report details the reason behind the flare-up and remedial measures the government should initiate to prevent such exigencies in future.
The Governor said that the report would be sent to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for necessary action.
Triggered by an incident of eve-teasing, violence erupted in a Muzaffarnagar hamlet on August 2, 2013. The subsequent riots officially claimed 62 lives in Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Shamli and Meerut districts. The riots, which continued for more than a fortnight, left hundreds with serious injuries and over 50,000 people homeless.
The UP government had appointed Justice (Retd.) Sahay as head of the judicial commission on September 9, 2013 under the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1952.
The commission was asked to submit its report within two months. However, the tenure of the commission was extended six times and during which the statements of 450 people, including 30 senior officers, were recorded.
Justice (Retd.) Sahay also visited the camps in which the displaced families were living.
Meanwhile, social activist Nutan Thakur wrote a letter to Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav urging them to make the commission’s report public.
“The people have the right to know the truth about these riots and the role of the state government and local administration. The Muzaffarnagar riots were shocking and a PIl was filed seeking a CBI inquiry into them,” Thakur wrote in the letter.