The communal fires stoking in Western UP’s Jat dominated Muzaffarnagar are still burning raising serious doubts on the seriousness of the Samajwadi Party government’s intentions and exposing the strategic failure of the administration and police.
The tension in Saharanpur-Meerut stretch was visible due to one-sided appeasement policy of the administration and police towards the Muslims, which finally resulted in the violence in Muzaffarnagar. Sixty-six people have lost their lives in this mindless violence so far. It is obvious that both the communities became sufferers of the violence there and both of them are now distancing themselves from the Akhilesh Government.
The Muslims are worried because SP supremo Mulayam Singh gives more importance to a handful of Muslim Moulvis and Mullas ignoring the learnead, matured and seasoned leadership of the community. Had he paid heed to these intellectuals among the Muslims, he would have earned the goodwill of the Muslim society. But he is proving a failure on political front, while his son Akhilesh has failed to yield positive results on administrative front.
Because of the government’s failure to effectively contain the guerilla warfare and violence in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding area, people have become restive. Nearly a dozen people have been killed so far in this ‘guerilla war.’ Three people were killed in firing that took place in village Mohammedpur Raisingh and Husenpur’s forest areas under the Bhaurakalan police station. Just after this incident a woman was killed in firing by bike-born six armed youth who fired at her and her husband near Hasanpur under Shamli district. Her husband Rajendra was injured. Rajendra was returning home after consulting a doctor in Shamli. The attackers first injured his wife Rita with a knife and then shot her pointblank. The injured Rajendra rushed to nearby villages and informed the people but before they could come the attackers fled the spot.
Ex-serviceman Rajendra Kashyap of village Mohammadpur Raisingh under Bhaurakalan PS was irrigating his fields on the late evening of October 30 when he was attacked by nearly a dozen armed men who were hiding in his field. He was badly injured in the attack and the attackers left thinking him dead. After some time when he regained Consciousness, Rajendra reached the village and informed the villagers about the attack. Immediately hundreds of villagers reached the spot and started combing the field. At the same time the armed attackers opened fire on the villagers killing three of them instantly. All the three were teenagers. This incident led to communal tension in the entire area. It may be mentioned that on October 14 some armed goons had opened fire on two labourers working in the field of Brijveer Singh in the same villge. The paramilitary forces had gone to the spot immediately but by the time they reached, the attackers had left. This led to panic among the farmers that they even feared going to their fields in the day time. The next to die in the communal violence was 50-year-old Bohram Lal, son of Chhitar Lal of Mukundpur in Muzaffarnagar.
In the light of these incidents Bharatiya Kishan Union leader Rakesh Taiket held a meeting of dozens of villages affected under the violence and placed two major demands to the government: One, closing down all the relief camps for Muslims and keep a watch on the refugees till they return to their homes and restore gun licenses to the farmers.
Senior BJP leader and leader of BJP legislature party Hukum Singh and former member of UP Backward Commission Jaiprakash Tomar, former MLC Dr Veersen Saroha demanded to impose NSA on the killers.
All these incidents indicate to the fact that the attitude of the UP government and administration was not impartial and honest in resolving this violence between the communities. It is well known that the responsibility of this lies solely on the state government. It is to be seen now how long the government takes to establish peace and tranquility in this region or compel the people to live under tension.
