This preliminary report of the PUCL team pertains
to the incident of police firing in Gopalgarh, district Bharatpur,
Rajasthan. As per the media reports, the police resorted to firing to
quell rioting mobs. The government has acknowledged eight deaths and
23 injured in this incident. Following this, the PUCL, Rajasthan,
constituted a fact-finding team to conduct an independent inquiry into
this incident. The team comprised Ms Kavita Srivastava, national
secretary, PUCL; Professor Shail Mayaram, Delhi; Professor Yogendra
Yadav, Delhi; Ms Nishat Hussain, vice-president, PUCL, Rajasthan; Mr
Sawai Singh, organising secretary, PUCL, Rajasthan; Mr Noor Mohammed,
PUCL, Alwar; Mr Virendra Vidrohi, PUCL, Alwar; Adv. Ramjan Chowdhary,
PUCL, Mewat district, Haryana; Mr Gaurav Srivastava, PUCL intern; Mr
Neelabh Mishra, editor, Outlook (Hindi) and a section of
progressive members from the Gujjar and Meo community also accompanied
and assisted the fact-finding team.
The team visited Gopalgarh and nearby villages on
September 16 and 17 and spoke to victims and their families,
eyewitnesses and locally informed persons. The team also spoke to the
district magistrate, superintendent of police on duty (before they
were transferred), the station house officer (SHO) of the
Gopalgarh police station and senior police and administrative
officials.
The government version, widely reported in the
media, is that this was an outcome of rioting between two communities.
It is said that since the mobs had turned violent, the police was left
with no option except to open fire.
Our preliminary inquiry however raises many
serious questions about this official account:
1. All the eight dead bodies identified are of Meo
Muslims. Of the 23 persons officially acknowledged to be injured, 19
are Meo Muslims. This preponderance of Muslims among the dead and
injured is intriguing if the police was, as is claimed, acting
neutrally and firing on both sides to control rioting mobs.
2. Every eyewitness we spoke to said that there was
no death before the police force intervened. According to senior
police authorities, as many as 219 rounds were fired by the police,
which appears prima facie to be an excessive use of this measure of
the last resort. Other than the use of tear-gas shells, we did not
hear about other precautionary steps to disperse the crowds, such as
lathi charge, use of rubber bullets. Since most of the deaths took
place inside the mosque, there is compelling reason to think that the
firing targeted one community.
3. Local persons reported that several dead bodies
were burnt. In addition, three dead bodies were discovered from a
nearby well. This aspect requires thorough investigation, since it is
reasonable to presume that the police were in charge of the site after
firing had taken place and the mobs dispersed.
4. There are many aspects that point to a collusion
between the local police, an aggressive section of the Gujjar
community and some local RSS, Bajrang Dal and VHP leaders. The
composition of the police station (eight police personnel were from
the Gujjar community while none was Muslim) and its conduct in the
recent past gives rise to the impression that the police was not
neutral.
5. The mosque bore evidence of extensive vandalism,
which lends credence to the allegation that after the firing, the
mosque was ‘captured’ by a section of the Gujjar community in
complicity with the police.
6. The burning and mutilation of at least three, or
more, dead bodies and of those who were alive (some of the patients in
the SMS [Sawai Man Singh hospital] bear witness to this) again gives
rise to the suspicion that the local police and a section of the
Gujjar community may have colluded in the aftermath of police action.
There is a serious apprehension that this could have been done in
order to destroy all evidence of bullet and other injuries.
7. The conduct of the administration in handling
the original dispute concerning the graveyard land and during the
crisis of September 14 leaves many questions unanswered. There were
confirmed reports about violent confrontation between the two
communities (thousands from each side) around 11 a.m. But once the
initial clash was put down by noon, the crowds were allowed to remain
and rearm for five hours even though the district magistrate and SP
were at the site. There is a strong belief among the Meos that the
district magistrate was pressured into ordering firing by self-styled
Hindu leaders. There are widespread allegations that firearms from the
police station’s armoury were taken and used by some elements from the
Gujjar community. This needs to be investigated.
The state government has announced several steps
following this incident. The district magistrate and SP have been
transferred, a judicial inquiry has been announced, the investigation
has been handed over to the CBI and compensation announced for the
victims. These are steps in the right direction. But these are not
sufficient. We suggest the following steps on an urgent basis to
restore peace and public confidence.
a. There are still many reports of missing persons
which need to be verified immediately.
b. There is a need for credible post-mortems of the
dead to be done by a high-level and independent panel of doctors.
c. The official list of injured needs to be revised
so as to include those who did not report out of fear or those who
went over to Haryana to get private treatment. There is a need for a
fresh MLC (medico-legal certificate) for all the injured.
d. Arrangements should be made to bring back the
Muslim families of Gopalgarh who have fled in order to save their
lives.
e. The entire local police force should be
transferred and be replaced by a multi-community police force with
adequate representation of the minority community.
f. The local community needs to be taken into
confidence in carrying out repairs and restoration of the mosque.
g. The case files should be handed over to the CBI
within the next seven days.
h. Confidence building measures in this region to
reduce the possibility of communities coming to a flashpoint and to
restore trust among the minority community need to be undertaken.
i. As a long-term measure, all disputes pertaining
to community spaces such as temples, mosques, graveyards, cremation
grounds, etc should immediately be identified and special courts set
up to resolve the legal disputes. Simultaneously, steps should be
taken to amicably settle such disputes by bringing the communities in
question together through proactive measures.
j. The terms of reference of the judicial inquiry
must specifically include: