The riot-hit Muslim villagers in Tikri Brahman village in Haryana’s Palwal district have held the village Sarpanch responsible for creating tension and for fanning hatred leading to communal violence on July 5.A fact-finding team of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) that visited the village on July 9 has stated in its report that there was a general feeling among the Muslim residents that polarisation was being deliberately attempted in view of the upcoming panchayat elections in the State.The State Government is likely to announce panchayat elections in the State soon.The NCM report said, “Ravi Dutt, Sarpanch of the riot-hit village was mentioned by several persons from the Muslim community for creating communal situation. It was also alleged that he was openly threatening the Muslins of the village and claiming that they would be forced to leave the village.”
During the meeting with NCM team, the Sarpanch did not seem sympathetic to those who suffered in the violence, said the report.Raising doubts over the ongoing inquiry into the incident, the report said that the minority community has informed that local SHO happened to be related to the Sarpanch Ravi Dutt, thus raising doubts about his impartiality.“As per the site survey by the team, 12 Muslim houses were damaged extensively during the communal violence on July 5. Houses had not only been burnt but ransacked with all kinds of household articles badly damaged and broken. Majority of the injured (27 out of 39 injured) as reported to DC Palwal belong to minority community.
In fact, one victim even alleged that his two Buffaloes were taken away by the rioters. The fact that in Tikri Brahman village where houses of the two communities are cheek by jowl, only Muslim homes were damaged, does not point to the violence being spontaneous and sudden,” observed the report.The NCM has recommended strict action to be taken against the culprits by quick investigation of FIRs by the Special Investigation team. Following the incidents of communal violent in the area, the NCM has also recommended intelligence gathering activities of the police must be intensified to sniff out impending troubles before they erupt out into actual violence.
A total of 29 FIRs have been lodged regarding the incident and 17 persons were arrested out of which 5 were preventive arrests.The NCM chairperson Naseem Ahmad has observed that the reports of seemingly organized involvement of persons from outside the Tikri Brahman village were disturbing and should be immediately investigated.Chairman NCM also observed that it seems that perhaps the people somehow were having a feeling that no action would result against them, no matter how serious were allegations of violence against them. This erosion of state authority will have serious ramifications on law and order front, he added.
During the meeting, DC Palwal Ashok Kumar Meena had informed that there had been trouble in Tikri Brahman village a few days before July 5 regarding encroachment on Panchayat land, which was brought under control with quick police intervention. The incident of July 5 therefore taken the local authorities by surprise, said the NCM report. Barely 30 kilometres from Atali village which had witnessed two separate incidents of communal clashes in past two months, Tikri Brahman village in Palwal witnessed communal strife which left more than 40 people injured on July 5.Police had earlier admitted that the charged atmosphere in these Jat-dominated villages is a cause of concern after the clashes.
Notably, after the May 25 incident of violence, the riot-hit Atali village had once again flared up in July after people of two communities pelted stones at each other. On this issue, the NCM had shot off a letter to the Union Home Ministry expressing apprehensions over the volatile situation that may spread to other areas in the state.The NCM team had earlier visited Atali village and in its report sent to the Home Ministry had accused Haryana police of abetting the May 25 attackers, who burnt down about 20 Muslim homes in Atali, leaving two dozen injured and prompting more than 300 people to flee the village.