Haryana Police’s role in dealing with communal riots, that took place in Tikri Brahman village in Palwal district, has come under judicial scanner.
Raising questions on Haryana Police’s role, some local residents have demanded a CBI probe into the cases registered by the cops by filing a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. They have also sought the deployment of central security force to diffuse tension and restore peace in the area.
Claiming to have video recording of the acts allegedly committed by police to support a particular community, petitioner Haneef Mohammad and other have said that their houses were attacked and set afire in the presence of police officials. later, to make the matter worse, police projected the victims of the minority community to be assailants and registered FIRs against them, they said.
The petitioners have claimed that there was “a planned and sustained campaign to isolate, victimise and terrorise the members of the minority community in Tikri Brahman village in particular and in the areas surrounding that village in general”.
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”, they alleged adding that it was either “indifferent”, or remained a “mere bystander”.
The petitioners said, on the fateful day, the houses of people belonging to the minority community were attacked, given beating and burnt. “Goods were looted; vehicles and valuables set ablaze. The minority community, in self-defence, pelted stones at the attackers,” they said.
They have also questioned the cases registered after the riots saying that the FIRs were registered on the complaints furnished by the majority community a day later than the complaints made by the minority community. Police registered 31 FIRs against the minority community without pre-registration inquiry, they alleged.
Asking for a reply, the High Court has issued a notice of motion to the State of Haryana, Palwal Superintendent of Police and the Station House Officer concerned for November 5.
Around 30 people had sustained injuries in communal violence that broke out between two communities in Tikri Brahman village on July 5, this year. later, police had to deploy its companies to maintain peace in the area.