Months after riots broke out Muzaffarnagar district is still under a communal siege, with the district administration failing to restore harmony.
Hindu and Muslim neighbours still eye each other with suspicion and live in constant fear. This distrust is strengthened by frequent killings in the area as miscreants belonging to different faiths move about freely in groups, attacking members of the other community.latest in the spate of killings is the lynching of four youths by villagers. According to the police, in the last four weeks, six such incidents have been reported in which ten people have been killed in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining Meerut.
locals say that despite security measures and deployment of additional policemen, killings and fights break out regularly, filling villagers with fear. Most incidents involve fights between Muslims and Hindus, mainly Jats.They also claimed that the lok Sabha election results and the overwhelming victory of the BJP had acted as a catalyst and since then the situation appears to have gone out of control.
locals claimed that rumours of renewed communal violence were flying thick and fast on counting day (May 16) but any untoward incidents were prevented by an alert district administration.
“As election results started appearing to go in favour of the BJP, scores of local vendors, majority of them Muslims, downed shutters,” a resident of Muzaffarnagar said.Members of both communities admitted to The Pioneer that all is not well in the district, and it may witness more communal clashes as several anti-social elements are actively creating a rift between Hindus and Muslims. They added that such elements are not missing any opportunity to give a communal flavor to any criminal incidents in the area.
“This has resulted in widening of the chasm between the two communities who have co-existed since ages. We had expected the situation to return to normal after the violence last year but the recent crisis indicates more trouble in coming days,” said Ishwar Malik, a resident of Khedi Village where the murder of Sanjeev Malik, secretary of the Bar Association of Muzaffarnagar, and the lynching of his killers took place recently.
Though he attributed Sunday morning’s incident to a land dispute, Malik added that the accused persons were from the minority community. “When people came to know that the lawyer, Sanjeev Malik, was killed by Muslim youths, hundreds of people from nearby villages gathered to avenge his death. The mob calmed down only when Satbir Malik, the deceased lawyer’s father, appealed for peace,” he said.
However, the angry villagers blocked roads in the area and lynched the four accused. The villagers also held a Mahapanchayat (public meet) which was attended by local MP Sanjeev Baliyan. After the incident, hundreds of policemen along with the Provincial Armed Constabulary were deployed to keep the situation under control.
The lawyer’s murder is not an isolated incident. A farmer was shot on April 28 and a mob blocked the Delhi-Dehradun national highway and pelted stones at the police. Police said that Yamin (50) was gunned down by some unidentified persons from another village after an argument. On May 9, tensions sparked in city area after a student of class ten, Uvais, was shot by some youths in a mobile shop. Just after the murder, scores of people had gathered in the town and created a stir. Two days later, Amit Bhardwaj, another resident was randomly shot at by car-borne assailants who stopped him on the pretext of asking his name. He was immediately rushed to a hospital in Meerut to avoid any retaliation by residents of the area. Four days ago, a clash took place in Hajipura area, but police immediately controlled the situation.
A communal clash was also witnessed in Meerut district earlier when two communities fought over the construction of a water kiosk near a mosque. The incident left one dead and 50 people injured even as police registered cases against 200 people.
Meanwhile, security personnel were deployed in huge numbers at Budhana Police Station area where the four youths were lynched following the lawyer’s murder.Alok Kumar, Inspector General, Meerut Range, said they were keeping a close watch on the situation. “We quickly normalized the situation but we have deployed the police force to avoid any more untoward incidents. We have registered an FIR and the matter is being investigating,” said Kumar. However, the role of the local police came under a cloud as it tried to insulate the villagers involved in lynching of the youths.