COMMUNAL RIOTS - 2014 January to December - 2014

Compiled By Fr. Paul G Documentation Centre∗

'Girl dies of cold' in UP riot relief camp, probe ordered (7) Meerut: Health officials have been asked to ascertain the cause of the death of a two-year-old girl local newspapers said died of cold in Manna Majra village of Shamli district, where several victims of communal riots are said to have taken refuge. "I came to know about the death of the girl, Rashida, from local newspapers on Thursday morning. I have asked chief medical officer to visit the camp and submit a report," district magistrate VK Singh told HT. Singh said there was no relief camp in the village as "the stay of a few families can't be considered a camp". The newspaper reports said Momin, a resident of village Bhajju of Muzaffarnagar district, was staying in Manna Majra along with his family. His daughter Rashida was taken ill due to severe cold and died on Wednesday evening. Stung by sharp criticism over the deaths of about 40 infants and children in various relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts during the past three months, the ruling Samajwadi Party decided to close down all such camps, where about 5,000 people afraid of returning to their villages were living in pathetic conditions. HT had published a series of stories on the deaths and the miserable condition of the relief camps. The Supreme Court had taken cognizance of media reports and asked the government to investigate. More than 50,000 people were displaced after the riots in which about 63 people had been killed in September last year. Most of them took compensation and settled elsewhere or returned to their native places. "We have closed down all 41 relief camps in Muzaffarnagar, while 4 out of the 17 camps in district Shamli still seem to be operational as I have not received their closure report yet," Saharanpur divisional commissioner Bhuvnesh Kumar said. Meanwhile, the forest department also asked the victims to vacate the land occupied by them after the riots. (Hindustan Times 2/1/14) US-based Muslim body writes to Akhilesh on riots (7 ) Lucknow: An organisation of US-based Indian Muslims — Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) — has criticised the UP government for its mishandling of the Muzaffarnagar communal riots, saying its "insensitivity" was "shockingly close" to that of the perpetrators of the violence. In a letter to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on January 1, IAMC president Ahsan Khan said the UP government lacked commitment to uphold the rule of law and safeguard the life and property of its citizens. Khan asked the CM to promptly rehabilitate the riot victims to prove that a government existed in the state. The IAMC equated the Muzaffarnagar riots with the 2002 Gujarat riots and the 2012 Assam violence. Khan also blamed that the government's action endorses the plan of perpetrators of banishing victims from their villages by giving conditional compensation. It has also termed Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's recent statement — that people in relief camps were being incited by Congress and BJP —reflects the moral bankruptcy of the SP. IAMC also opposed the forceful eviction of people from relief camps. The letter states that the refugees have been forcibly evicted in order to close down the camps and create an illusion of return to normalcy. The SP was all praise for IAMC when it had invited Additional Advocate General (AAG) Zafaryab Jilani to the US in June 2012. Jilani was even felicitated by local Muslim groups on his return from the US where he had delivered a lecture on persecution of Muslims. "It is a big

∗ This is a collection of previously published news and views from the print as well as the electronic media, whose reference marked at the end of each news items. Department of Documentation and Library (DDL) of the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi neither claims to the veracity of the facts in the news nor subscribes to the views expressed.

organisation and includes everyone not only Muslims. I had gone there and they had also invited Rajya Sabha MP Mohammad Adeeb," Jilani said. (Indian Express 3/1/14) Delhi Police claims that those approached by LeT we re not UP riot victims (7) New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Tuesday claimed that those approached by terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba were not victims of the Muzaffarnagar communal riots, confirming that two people have been arrested till now in connection with the case. Addressing a press conference, Commission of Police – Special Cell, S N Shrivastava further said that the case was registered by Delhi Police on the basis of information provided by Central intelligence body. This came after The Indian Express reported that two Haryana imams arrested last month for their suspected links to Lashkar-e-Toiba, and another LeT operative, had allegedly visited relief camps of victims of the Muzaffarnagar communal riots and sought to recruit men to their module. Some of the men who were allegedly approached refused to join hands with the Pakistan-based terror group and instead informed the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. On Monday, they recorded their detailed statements under section 164 CrPC in the chamber of a city magistrate at the Patiala House court. The sealed statements are now admissible as evidence in court. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had at a rally in Indore in October claimed that vested interests were behind the Muzaffarnagar riots and that an intelligence officer had told him that Pakistan's ISI was trying to recruit disgruntled youths. The statement had sparked a furore with the BJP, Muslim groups and even some victims living in the relief camps strongly criticising Rahul for his claim. Sources said the men who recorded their statements in court and have turned witnesses against the imams were living on the fringes of relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli. (Indian Express 8/1/14) FIR lodged against 3,000 people for communal tensio n in village (7) Bahraich/Muzaffarnagar (UP): An FIR was on Wednesday registered by police against over 3,000 persons, 26 of whom have been arrested, following communal tension in Mohraba village near here during a religious procession, police said. “An FIR has been registered against 3,042 people, including 3,000 unidentified persons, in connection with the communal tension yesterday. Of them, 26 have been arrested,” a senior police officer said. District Magistrate Kinjal Singh said Rs 50,000 each would be given to four seriously injured villagers, while other injured would be given Rs 20,000 each. The tension started in the village in Nanpara area during a procession of Julus-e-Mohammadi over playing of music, following which some persons from a community damaged a place of worship, police said. Violence erupted as members of the other community objected to the incident.A number of villagers and a policeman were injured in the brick-batting, while three houses and two four-wheelers were damaged, police sources said. Heavy force has been deployed in the area where tension is prevailing, they said. The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a medical drive for Muzaffarnagar riot victims, with checkups of pregnant women and children given priority. Medical examination of around 168 pregnant women and 4,000 children has been carried out till now, District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said. A team of doctors under the supervision of Chief Medical Officer S K Tyagi visited 17 villages, he said. Medicines were given to 168 pregnant women and 886 children, he said. The district authorities asked the riot victims to leave the camps to prevent untoward incident due to the cold wave sweeping the region. Several persons died in the district between September 7 and December 20 last year as the winter chill was increasing. Over 10 children died in the camps, while more than 20 died in hospitals or nursing homes where they were taken for medical treatment. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) began its three-day camp sitting in the state capital on Wednesday, reports DHNS from Lucknow. NHRC chairperson Justice K G Balakrishnan said the Commission has been continuously endeavouring to promote culture of human rights in the country. “Despite the laws in place and the best efforts of the Commission, the situation of human rights does not present a colourful picture in the country and a lot needs to be done,” he said. He said that the Camp Sittings were an important event of the Commission and it has been visiting various states in this connection. It was also monitoring issues relating to socio-political, cultural and economic

rights as well as implementation of various welfare-oriented flagship programmes. “Such visits help the Commission in disposal of some long pending cases of human rights violation and sensitisation of the officers,” he added. He said the Commission’s teams had visited violence-hit Muzaffarnagar thrice and their findings, observations and recommendations will be shared with senior officers at a meeting with them on Friday. Discussions with the NGOs will also be held to know issues and problems relating to human rights in the State. (Deccan Herald 15/1/14) 3 killed in communal flare-up Jaipur: Three persons were killed and six injured after a minor verbal spat between two groups turned into a communal clash in Pratapgarh district in southern Rajasthan. The clash broke out in Kotadi village when late Tuesday night a group of young men got into a spat with another group. Within minutes, crowds supporting each group gathered at the spot. The matter escalated when some people opened fire. This led to an exchange of fire and stone pelting between both groups, police said. The youths who started the gunfire then rushed to a neighbouring village, Moheda, and in subsequent rounds of firing injured some people. This further incited the villagers and the clashes spread. Several kuchha houses and shops were set ablaze yet again on Wednesday. Additional forces were rushed to the spot and a special team headed by Inspector General Anand Shrivastava was dispatched to take charge of the situation. Curfew was imposed by the district administration and the situation was brought under control only by late evening. Raja Khan (20) of Kotadi and Bhanwar Singh (50) and Dinesh Kumar (25) of Moheda succumbed to their injuries while six people were admitted to a hospital in Udaipur. The families of the three victims refused to take the bodies home and sought compensation from the state government. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje appealed to the locals to maintain peace and harmony and not get carried away by rumours. (Indian Express 16/1/14) Owaisi to hold rally in UP, will target SP leadersh ip for riots (7) Lucknow: Spelling a fresh bout of trouble for the Akhilesh Yadav government in UP, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi is set to hold a rally at Sanjarpur village in Azamgarh district on February 1. A bitter critic of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Hyderabad MP will woo the Muslims — the core votebank of the ruling SP in UP — at the rally. “Obviously, I am focussing on Muslims. Fingers will be raised on the state government and its Muslim leaders over Muzaffarnagar riots as they are in power with a massive mandate,” Asaduddin Owaisi, told The Indian Express over phone. He asked Azam Khan, the in-charge minister of Muzaffarnagar, to introspect. “Several riots, including that in Muzaffarnagar, have occurred in UP during SP regime. The barbarism that Muslims faced cannot be described and only few people have been arrested so far. The Muslim leaders of SP should answer it,” he said. Though local police are yet to give permission for holding the rally, Kaleem Jamai, the organiser, claimed that Muslims from across the state are supporting the event and will be participating in it. The location — Sanjarpur village — has been strategically chosen. It had hit the headlines in September, 2008, after two youths, said to be Indian Mujahideen operatives and belonging to this village, were killed in a police encounter at Delhi’s Batla House. Owaisi, however, said his meeting has nothing to do with the Lok Sabha elections. He also ruled out expanding his outfit in UP. “It is too early to say. I am not going (to Sanjarpur) for Lok Sabha elections. My effort will be to develop local leadership. When AAP can emerge in Delhi, Dalits and Yadavs can have their own party, then Muslims too should think in this regard,” said Owaisi. A video clip of Owaisi’s speech targeting Mulayam, Akhilesh and Azam Khan over Muzaffarnagar communal riots is being circulated widely. In the video clip he has held the trio responsible for the riots. “It is an era of technology now. Nothing can be hidden. Anyone can record the speech and it can be circulated,” Owaisi said. (Indian Express 24/1/14) Muzaffarnagar riots political, conspiracy by SP, BJ P: Ajit Singh (7)

Agra: Alleging that the riots in Muzaffarnagar last year were a “conspiracy” by the BJP and the ruling Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief and union minister Ajit Singh on Thursday termed them as “political riots”. Addressing the ‘Sankalp rally’ in Agra, Singh said, “They weren’t communal riots, they were political riots. It was a conspiracy by the SP and the BJP to divide the people and reap political advantage.” Singh, who launched a scathing attack on SP, BJP and Mayawati’s BSP, said this country will not survive if riots continue to take place like this in every village. The Muzaffarnagar riots in September had shaken the Jat-Muslim social base of the party. While many RLD Jat supporters felt Ajit Singh did not back them enough in their conflict with Muslims, many Muslim supporters alleged RLD did not do enough to restrain Jat supporters from engineering violence. Interestingly, Singh chose the same venue where BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi had addressed a rally in November last year. The RLD chief, however, was quick to claim he had drawn such an impressive crowd at the same venue that BJP leaders would now “lose sleep”. “Tonight BJP leaders will not be able to sleep after seeing the crowds here. This proves people will not fall into Modi’s trap,” he said. Interestingly though, the crowd at Singh’s rally was overwhelmingly male-dominated. Singh’s son and Lok Sabha MP Jayant Chaudhary also addressed the rally. Lashing out at the Akhilesh Yadav government, Singh said there was no law and order or infrastructure development in the state. “UP has not one, but five CMs with all the different power centres. But the one who sits on the chair can be counted as just half a CM,” he said. The union minister, whose party has five seats in the current Lok Sabha, said the people of UP should not fall into the cycle of voting either for SP or BSP each time. He said while these were Lok Sabha and not assembly elections, a message should be sent out there is “no place for the BJP, BSP or SP”. He also reiterated his party’s commitment towards the creation of a separate ‘Harit Pradesh’. Meanwhile, his son Jayant Chaudhary also did not miss the opportunity to attack Modi, making fun of his statement that it would take a “56-inch chest” to turn UP into Gujarat. “On one side we have people who say you need a 56-inch chest to run UP…The country won’t progress by pumping air in the chest. One has to sweat it out to run this country,” Chaudhary said. Though he refrained from directly blaming the SP and BJP for the Muzaffarnagar riots, he said people know “which two parties would have gained from the riots”. Criticizing the SP government, which is already under attack for organising and spending on the Saifai Mahotsav even as Muzaffarnagar riot victims suffered, Chaudhary said they should have just bought movie tickets if they wanted to see film actors dance. “On one hand, people are suffering and on the other, this government organises a mahotsava,” he said. (Indian Express 31/1/14) Pawar slams debate on ’02 riots (7) With an aim to mount pressure on its ally Congress, NCP chief Sharad Pawar indirectly defended Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on 2002 communal riots by supporting the statement recently made by his party leader Praful Patel. Mr Pawar on Sunday reiterated that there is no need for debate once the court has ruled out role of the Gujarat chief minister in the communal riots. Replying to a question during a press conference in Kolhapur, Mr Pawar said, “If the court has given its verdict, then the question of holding a debate on it does not arise. We accept the court’s order and there won’t be any debate on it.”Both Mr Pawar and Mr Patel were referring to a court ruling that upheld a Supreme Court monitored SIT’s investigation clearing the Gujarat chief minister of his involvement in the Gujarat riots. Mr Patel last week stunned Congress by saying that since a judicial probe has given Mr Modi a clean chit, the matter should put to rest. He was reacting to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s interview to a TV channel in which the Congress leader sought to draw a distinction between the Congress and Modi government about handling the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and Gujarat communal riots of 2002. Mr Pawar also clarified that Mr Patel has not given any ultimatum to the Congress over seat sharing talks. He said, “Praful Patel hasn’t given any ultimatum to the Congress. The seat-sharing issue with the Congress will be resolved in the next 10 days as our discussion are on in a friendly manner.” Commenting on the Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI-Swabhi-mani Shetkari Sangathana and Rashtriya Samaj Paksh mega-alliance, Mr Pawar said he has never seen such a politics of hatred till now in Maharashtra. (aSI9AN aGE 3/2/14)

Communal incidents up by 30%, UP tops list (7) New Delhi: As the government’s attempts to table the communal violence Bill were stalled by the opposition on Wednesday, fresh data released by the Ministry of Home Affairs shows a steep 30 per cent rise in the number of communal violence incidents in 2013 as compared to 2012, with the maximum number of cases being reported from Uttar Pradesh. In reply to a question in Parliament, the home ministry on Wednesday said the total number of cases reported in 2013 was 823, up from 668 incidents in 2012. According to the ministry, 133 people were killed and 2,269 injured in such violence in 2013 against 94 and 2,117 respectively in 2012. The worst-hit state was Uttar Pradesh, which recorded 247 incidents in 2013 as compared to 118 in 2012. Besides UP, Bihar saw an increase in the number of communal violence incidents — 63 cases in 2013 against 21 in 2012. Gujarat showed a marginal increase, from 57 incidents in 2012 to 68 in 2013. Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh also contributed to the rise in cases. Dhule in Maharashtra witnessed the worst riots while in Karnataka and MP, sporadic cases of violence were reported. Tamil Nadu also registered a rise in number of cases — 36 incidents in 2013 as compared to 14 in 2012. In Rajasthan, 52 incidents were reported in 2013 as compared to 37 in 2012. Soon after the last year’s Muzaffarnagar riots, the Centre had issued advisory to all states asking to take measures and strengthen ways to curb these incidents. According to the home ministry, the communal polarisation is being stroked to vitiate the atmosphere for political gains and needs to be checked immediately. (Indian Express 6/2/14) Law Minister Kapil Sibal defends Communal Violence Bill (7) New Delhi: Under attack from Opposition over the Communal Violence Bill, Law Minister Kapil Sibal on Saturday defended it saying the proposed law was not violative of the country’s federal structure and was required as several state governments have been accused of shielding those guilty of targetted violence. He said the Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2014 does not either directly or indirectly seek to legislate on public order, police and public services of the state. Therefore, it is not in violation of the federal structure. He said the Bill, however, enables the National Human Rights Commission to investigate what are defined as ‘scheduled’ offences only and only if state governments give their concurrence. “In any event, the central government has no role to play in such investigations,” he wrote on his website. Sibal said India has witnessed the targeting of sections of society professing one religion or another. “The country has, he said, witnessed state governments unwilling to investigate offences committed during the course of such targeting. “In fact, many courts, including the Supreme Court, have been constrained to comment that state investigating agencies have not only been laggard but have willingly misdirected their investigations to benefit the real accused. “In this state of affairs, in certain circumstances, with the concurrence of the state, an investigation may be handed over to National Human Rights Commission. How such a Bill transgresses the exclusive legislative competence of the state Legislature is beyond comprehension,” he said. Attacking Arun Jaitley, he said the objection of the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha that Parliament lacks legislative competence to introduce Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2014 is without substance. “If the logic of the Leader of the Opposition were to be accepted, then the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 is also unconstitutional since it permits investigation of offences and classes of offences by the CBI with the consent of the state government,” he said. He said the bill also deals with compensation and rehabilitation of victims of ‘scheduled’ offences. “This in no way interferes with law and order or public order. It merely seeks to rebuild the lives of those destroyed by acts of wilful violence against them. Partisan politics should not stand in the way of such legislation,” Sibal wrote. His remarks on the bill came after Deputy Chairman P J Kurien had on Wednesday ruled that the Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2014 stands deferred in view of the “mood of the House” after its introduction was opposed by BJP, CPI-M, AIADMK, DMK and SP. (Indian Express 8/2/14)

Pawar takes U-turn, slams Modi for Gujarat riots (7 ) MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who had recently deprecated Narendra Modi's condemnation over Gujarat riots, today took a U-turn and targeted BJP's PM candidate for "mass murder", drawing sharp criticizm from the opposition party. "The chief minister of a neighbouring state speaks about his development agenda...What is development?...Is it bringing all-round development in the lives of the poor and bringing smile on their faces? "They speak of changing the face of the country but the entire country has seen how mass murders took place," Pawar said addressing a meeting to discuss the status of minorities, without naming Modi. Pawar slammed Modi's development model and accused him of ignoring certain sections of the society. "These people are asking for complete power... but their attitude is to ignore certain sections of the society," Pawar, Union agriculture minister, said. Pawar had recently said there was no need for a debate on the 2002 Gujarat riots after courts had ruled on Modi's role during the communal conflagration. "If courts have given their verdict, then the question of holding a debate on it does not arise. We accept the court's order and there won't be any debate on it," Pawar had said. Pawar's criticism of Modi drew a sharp response from BJP whose spokesman Prakash Javadekar said the NCP chief has the habit of making communal statements ahead of elections. "For four years nine months, Pawar talks like a secularist. However, when the elections come close, he becomes a communalist. The NCP leader has a pecularity to make communal statements ahead of the elections," Javadekar said. Pawar also criticized former Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh for quitting IPS to join BJP. "Till the other day, he was in charge of law and order of the city and suddenly one finds he has joined BJP. Recently, a top official of the ministry of home affairs (home secretary R K Singh) also joined communal BJP," the NCP chief said. "..Ideology is not framed overnight, those in the administration are expected to be fair and impartial in a secular country. These people are part of administration for 20-30 years and suddenly (they) join a political party," he said, adding the presence of such people in government could be "dangerous"."I have no objection to them joining politics but their presence in government is dangerous...All secular parties should think about this," he said. Javadekar also took a swipe at Pawar for his criticism of Satyapal Singh, saying the Maratha strongman was unhappy as Mumbai's former top cop had not joined NCP. (Times of India 22/2/14) 84 police teams constituted to nab absconding riots accused (7) MUZAFFARNAGAR: District authorities have constituted 84 police teams to arrest the 244 absconding accused who are facing charges over the riots last year in the area, police today said. SSP HN Singh told reporters here that 84 police teams, each led by a gazetted officer, have been set up to arrest 244 absconding riots accused who have been identified by a Special Investigation Team. While 220 of the accused are facing charges for murder, loot and arson, 24 of them are named in six gang rape cases. Police said they are facing resistance from locals as they try to arrest the riots accused residing in villages in the area. Thus, only two of the 39 accused in the Kutba killings have been arrested. Eight people, including a woman, were killed and 24 injured in the attack on Kutba village during the riots in September of last year. Out of the 24 persons facing gang rape allegations, only one has been arrested. Court has initiated attachment proceedings under provisions of CrPC against the absconding accused. More than 60 persons were killed and hundreds injured in last year's communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas. (Times of India 23/2/14) Anti-Sikh riot victims protest land grab (7) AMRITSAR: Victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, under the aegis of 1984 Sikh Genocide Victims' Family Agitation Committee, staged protest near Gurdwara Sangrana Sahib on Sunday against alleged grabbing of nearly 4 acres of land meant for the families of victims. Former president of the committee J S Saluja said that human rights activist Darshan Singh has also begun hunger strike against land grabbers. Giving details, Darshan Singh said Giani Sant Singh Maskeen had purchased the land with offerings from the

community to help the victims to settle down but the land had been grabbed by some influential persons. He said he would continue to sit on hunger strike till they get possession of land. (Times of India 24/2/14) 7 Worst Riots That Rocked India (7) BANGALORE: In India, religious violence is often accompanied with an act of aggression by supporters of one religious group against followers and organizations of another religious class, mostly in the form of mutiny. It is during the riots when people rely on killing, damage to property, raping, looting and widespread destruction to get their point across. The communal riot that broke out in Muzaffarnagar, UP, in 2013 has once again raised the bar among Indians, who are on the rise of communal clashes in the country and the nature of its sensitivity among the religious groups. Here is the list of 7 grievous communal riots that India witnessed as listed by IndiaTV. 2013 Muzaffarnagar Violence: Muzaffarnagar has witnessed sporadic clashes from 27th August, 2013. The tension in this town escalated after three youths were killed in a wrangle, that was caused due to an incident of eve-teasing. The riots took away lives of 40 people and have left 81 people severely injured. During the riots, people began firing at members of other community, and went on a stabbing spree. Thousands of people left their villages out of fear, but normalcy has gradually returned with the intervention from both communities. (Silicon India 27/2/14)

No change in policy on communal riots in Gujarat: U S (7) Washington: The United States continues to express concern about communal violence in India, the Obama Administration has said, strongly refuting reports that it has gone soft on the Gujarat communal riots in 2002 and the alleged role of its Chief Minister Narendra Modi. "I wouldn't characterise our assessment that way. I think you'll find if you review the text that we're very clear about our concerns about several episodes of communal violence across India," US State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday. Psaki was responding to a question on the latest annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by Secretary of State John Kerry. "If Modi was mentioned in previous human rights reports for India by name, and (why) he is not mentioned in this one," she was asked. Paski said that there is no change in the US policy on communal riots in Gujarat about a decade ago. Both the annual reports of the 2011 and 2012 mention Modi in its report but it no way refers to his role in the communal riots. The latest report said: "Civil society activists continued to express concern about the Gujarat government's failure to protect the population or arrest many of those responsible for communal violence in 2002 that resulted in the killings of more than 1,200 persons, the majority of whom were Muslim, although there was progress in several court cases," the report said. "The Gujarat government appointed the Nanavati-Mehta Commission to investigate the 2002 violence. In December, the Gujarat government granted an extension for the 21st time, extending the commission to June 30, 2014," it said. The State Department said the Gujarat government withdrew its consent to seek the death penalty for former minister Maya Kodnani and others convicted in the 2002 Naroda Patiya violence that killed 97 Muslims. The investigating agency questioned the Gujarat government's move in a petition in the Supreme Court in June. Kodnani, the first senior politician to be convicted for 2002 violence, was sentenced to a 28-year jail term for her involvement in the post-Godhra riots case. The report also talked about last year's communal violence in the Muzaffarnagar area of Uttar Pradesh that led to 65 reported deaths, 42,000 persons displaced, and hundreds of injuries during the months of August and September. "The violence started with a sexual harassment incident between a Muslim man and a Hindu Jat woman and escalated following a political meeting of officials and others from more than 300 local villages during the weekend of September 7-8," it said. (Zee News 1/3/14) Attacker, victim: 2 faces of Gujarat riots come tog ether for ‘Hindu-Muslim’ unity (7)

At a seminar organised in Thaliparamba in Kerala’s Kannur district on Monday, two men sat together, smiling and talking. Twelve years ago, these men had entered India’s collective consciousness through their pictures published in the news media — images that went on to become iconic reminders of the Gujarat riots of 2002. One of the men was seen as the victim, wearing a shirt streaked with blood, pleading for mercy with folded hands, his eyes brimming with tears. The other appeared as the ruthless perpetrator of the violence, wearing a black beard and saffron Bajrang Dal bandana, standing with a leg on a signboard and both hands aloft, in one of which he held an iron rod. Behind him burnt a large fire. The first picture — of a tailor named Qutubuddin Ansari — was taken in Naroda Patiya, which saw some of the worst violence of the riots. The other picture, of Shahpur cobbler Ashok Bhavanbhai Parmar, or Ashok Mochi, was taken in Dudheshwar. On Monday, participating in a seminar cal‘ed ‘A decade of genocide’, organised by the CPM, the two men showed they had come a long way since February 28, 2002, the day their pictures were taken in riot-torn Ahmedabad. The men were brought together by journalist-activist Kaleem Siddiqui, who travelled with them to Kerala from Gujarat for the launch of a Malayalam edition of Ansari’s autobiography. Speaking at the seminar, Mochi apologised to Ansari and the entire Muslim community for the killings of 2002. The 40-year-old Ansari is now happily married with three children; the 39-year old Mochi, by contrast, does not even have a voter’s ID, and has been deprived of the benefits of all government schemes. Ansari has been trying to stay out of the public eye ever since his picture was used in an email allegedly sent by the Indian Mujahideen. Mochi said he has decided to devote his time to working for Hindu-Muslim amity, and to “improving my image of a communal zealot”. “It is because of my unsound financial position that I have not been able to get married,” Mochi told The Indian Express over the phone from Kerala. In 2002 he lived in Kajimiya ni Chali in Shahpur with his elder brother. He now lives across the road in Haleem ni Khadki. Cases were filed against him for rioting. “I was acquitted in the lower court because they could not get any evidence against me from local Muslims. The government appealed against the acquittal, and a judgment is now pending,” he said. (Indian Express 5/3/14) BSP MP, MLAs charged for UP communal riots (7) LUCKNOW: Six months after the Muzaffarnagar riots in which at least 60 people were killed, the special investigation team (SIT) set up to probe the violence has filed a chargesheet against BSP MP Kadir Rana and a group of his supporters for allegedly inciting communal passions with inflammatory speeches at a public gathering after Friday prayers. This was three days after the killing of three youths on August 27 that triggered a two-month carnage in parts of western UP. Besides Rana, chargesheets were also recently filed against BSP MLAs Noor Saleem Rana and Maulana Jamil, apart from Congress leader Saeed-uz-Zama and his son Salman Saeed. Others facing trial are Muzaffarnagar city board member Asad Zama Ansari and ex-member of the city board Naushad Qureshi, apart from traders Ahsan Qureshi, Sultan Mushir and Naushad. DIG Muzaffarnagar Raghubir Lal confirmed that the chargesheet was filed in the court of the chief judicial magistrate. "The accused persons violated prohibitory orders enforced by local administration to address large gatherings," police sources said. Police said people's statements, camera footage as well as electronic evidence against some people were used as evidence to strengthen the case. Earlier, BJP MLAs Sangeet Singh Som and Suresh Rana were charged under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and sent to jail, but a high court panel dropped the charges following which they got bail. Rana and his group were booked under charges relating to promoting enmity between groups, rioting with deadly weapons, deterring public servants from discharging duties and disobedience of public servant's orders, besides Section 7 of Criminal Law Amendment Act in the FIR lodged after the riots. Post investigations, the SIT team collected evidence against Rana and nine others. (Times of India 9/3/14) Alarm over '2002 Guj riots video' (7)

VARANASI: A video clipping, purportedly containing graphic images of 2002 Gujarat riots, is being circulated widely on the social media since Tuesday night. Coming close on the heels of BJP announcing Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its candidate from the city, it is bound to create trouble in the communally sensitive east UP region. The video, '& Rioter,' edited by one Sayed Mohammed Raqeem SM, contains visuals of charred bodies, hooliganism, riot victims and terms Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders and Modi as 'dharm ke numayinde' (patrons of religion). A police official with a quote and symbolic visual of judiciary has also been figured in the video. All these visuals appear in the form of a slide show with a background music, 'Gujarat ka manjar hamne dekha hai'. A local Samajwadi Party leader and nominated corporator of Varanasi Municipal Corporation, Varun Singh, too has upload this video clip on a social networking site. He said that one of his friends shared the video with him following which he realized that "making others aware about the truth of Gujarat was a must" and he shared the video with others. His comments were also tagged with his uploaded video. Circulation of this video through social media accounts has brought the officials on their toes. DM and district election officer Pranjal Yadav said, "I have reported the matter to the Election Commission." SSP Jogendra Kumar also summoned the crime branch in-charge and assigned him the task to ensure that "sharing of this video on social sites is checked and appropriate action taken under sections of IT Act".This is not the first time when a hate video has emerged as a challenge for the police. Following Muzaffarnagar communal riots in 2013, a hate video was circulated through same mediums. The video, with some visuals of riots recorded somewhere in Pakistan, was shared by trouble mongers as the scenes of Mujaffarnagar riots. To put a check on this video, the then officials had announced to give cash rewards to those who would inform about the source or origin of the hate video. However, the cops had failed to trace the trouble mongers. (Times of India 21/3/14) UP govt's initial negligence led to riots flaring u p: SC (7) NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday indicted the Akhilesh Yadav government and said the state's lethargy in reacting to the volatile ground situation led to full-pitched communal rioting in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts in which 59 persons were killed last September. "After the mahapanchayat on September 7, 2013, certain incidents such as eve-teasing of other community girls followed by murders took place. Thousands of people gathered at a particular place in order to take revenge or retaliate, it is expected of the state intelligence agencies to apprise the state government and district administration in particular, to prevent such communal violence," the court said in its 98-page ruling. A bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justices Ranjana P Desai and Ranjan Gogoi said neither the Centre nor the UP government placed any authoritative information before the apex court whether there was gross intelligence failure or inaction on the part of district administration with regard to the ground situation. Though it turned down the petitioners' plea for a special investigation team or CBI probe, the court sought accountability for the incidents with the CJI saying, "It is made clear that the officers responsible for maintaining law and order, if found negligent, should be brought under the ambit of law irrespective of their status." Justice Sathasivam, who authored the judgment for the bench, said, "Had the central and state intelligence agencies smelt these problems in advance and alerted the district administration, the unfortunate incidents could have been prevented. Thus, we prima facie hold the state government responsible for being negligent at the initial stage in not anticipating the communal violence and for taking necessary steps for its prevention." However, the court rejected the PIL petitioners' plea to hand over investigation into riot cases either to a special investigation team or the CBI taking into account steps taken by the state in providing relief and rehabilitation to riot victims, implementing compensation schemes for those preferring relocation and the security measures for rape survivors. But the court did express serious concern over police reporting recovery of AK-47 assault rifles and 9 mm cartridges in Kirthal village in Baghpat district and ordered, "The police have to identify the persons concerned and proceed against them under provisions of Indian Penal Code and Arms Act." The state had set up a Special Investigation Cell (SIC) to investigate 566 riot-related cases. The bench also termed as

"unacceptable and untenable" the police claim that whenever it attempted to arrest riot case accused, the women folk in the villages formed human chains and prevented wanted persons from being taken into custody. It said if the accused persons, irrespective of their party affiliation, were not arrested expeditiously, it would take action against police officers concerned. On riot-related rape survivors, the court ordered the state to pay an additional compensation of Rs 5 lakh to each of them towards rehabilitation. Taking a general view of the prevailing circumstances in the country, the bench said, "The government will have to formulate and implement policies in order to uplift the socio-economic conditions of women, sensitization of police and other concerned parties towards the need for gender equality and it must be done with focus in areas where statistically there is high percentage of crime against women." (Times of India 27/3/14) Riots likely in India if Modi becomes PM, says Maya wati (7) Amravati: In a fierce attack on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi here on Thursday, BSP chief Mayawati said there was every possibility of communal riots in the country if he became the Prime Minister. Blaming Modi for the Gujarat riots in 2002, she claimed there had been no caste or communal riot in Uttar Pradesh during her four terms as the chief minister. Launching the BSP’s election campaign here, Mayawati lashed out at both the Congress and BJP. She said these parties should not be given more chances as they have always worked against the interests of backwards, Dalits and tribals. She said both the parties gained power with the help of big industrialists and framed policies to suit the latter’s needs. “We want to ensure that the interests of the backwards, poor, Dalits and other deprived classes are protected,” she said. Targeting Congress and its vice president Rahul Gandhi, she said the party was pushing its “yuvraj” as the prime ministerial candidate without naming him. “You have to stop the Congress from coming back to power as it has done little for the poor and the downtrodden despite enjoying power for five decades,” she added. The former chief minister alleged that attempts were being made to take away the benefits of job and education reservations to SCs, STs and OBCs by framing new laws. New castes were included in the quota list to deprive the backward people of benefits, Mayawati said without directly mentioning Jats, who were recently added to the OBC list. Hindustan Times 28/3/14) Several Injured in Clash Between CPM, RSS (7) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Five people were hacked and several others injured as CPM and RSS workers clashed at Aruvikkara late on Sunday night. Party workers, who were engaged in campaigning work in Irumba and Pandiyodu regions, had differences over the installation of flex boards at Aruvikkara, leading to the clashes, the police said. Anilkumar and Shivan, both CPM activists, were hacked in the forehead and thighs respectively. The police have registered cases against 15 RSS activists based on the complaints lodged by the duo. RSS activists Pradeep, Pradosh Kumar (Pradeep’s brother) and Nitish also suffered cuts on their bodies. The police also registered cases against several CPM activists. (New Indian Express 1/4/14) SC to J&K govt : Book culprits of Kishtwar violence (7) New Delhi: The Supreme Court today directed the Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure proper investigation of all cases arising out of communal clashes in Kishtwar last year and asked the Commission of Inquiry set up by the state government to submit its report on the incidents within three months. A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam also upheld the state government's policy in awarding a higher amount of compensation to state subjects who are victims of the violence. "The state government is directed to ensure due and proper investigation of all such cases registered in connection with the two incidents in question if such investigation has not been completed in the meantime and thereafter bring all such cases to a logical end in accordance with law by completion of the trial against the accused, wherever necessary," it said. Communal clashes had broken out in Kishtwar town in Jammu region on August 9 last year leaving three persons dead and dozens others injured. Property worth crores

of rupees was set ablaze by the rival communities, forcing the government to impose curfew and seek army assistance in controlling the situation. The government then appointed a Commission headed by Justice R C Gandhi, a retired judge of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, to inquire into the incident. "We, accordingly, request the Commission to complete its enquiry as early as possible, preferably, within a period of three months from today, if the final report has not already been submitted in the meantime. The government will naturally be duty bound to take all necessary and consequential steps on the basis of the said report as would be mandated in law," the apex court said. In the meanwhile, the bench rejected a bunch of petitions filed by family members of contract labourers who were killed by militants at Mirbazar Tehsil Kelgam in Anantnag district in 2000. They had pleaded for enhanced compensation. Business Standard 7/4/14) Shah moves HC for quashing FIRs (7) Allahabad: “The court has directed the state government to produce the CDs in connection with the FIR,” said Shamit Gopal, counsel for the petitioner. “The court has directed the state government to produce the CDs in connection with the FIR,” said Shamit Gopal, counsel for the petitioner. BJP’s UP in-charge Amit Shah Wednesday approached the Allahabad High Court seeking a stay on his arrest and quashing of FIRs registered against him for allegedly giving “hate” speeches at election meetings in Bijnor and Shamli on April 4. A Division Bench of Justices Arun Tandon and Satish Chandra has asked the state government and the Election Commission to ensure that the CDs of the alleged hate speech are presented before it by Thursday. Shah had been booked under Section 125 of the Representation of People Act and Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code, both pertaining to promoting enmity between two communities. Both were registered on April 6 in Shamli and Bijnore. “The court has directed the state government to produce the CDs in connection with the FIR,” said Shamit Gopal, counsel for the petitioner. Election Commission counsel Bhupendra Nath Singh said: “The court asked the EC to produce the CDs. We submitted (before the court) that while we will try to get it in time from our headquarters, the state may be in a better position to do so. The court then asked both the state and the EC to ensure that they are brought before it in the stipulated time.” Gopal said that the petition has sought stay on Shah’s arrest and quashing of the FIRs on the ground that the alleged offence was not made in the speech. “Our contention is that the speech in question was not intended to disturb communal harmony or create a law and order situation. In the absence of intent, the alleged offence is not made. We have also argued that this speech was not made at a rally or a public meeting that is open to all. It was a meeting of limited people who were party workers. Third, our argument is that the speech did not lead to any law and order situation or breach of peace in public and, therefore, it cannot be concluded that it was inflammatory,” said Gopal. In meetings on April 4 in Bijnor, Shamli and Muzaffarngar, Shah had reportedly said it was time to seek revenge by casting vote. “A man can live without food or sleep. He can live when he’s thirsty and hungry. But when he’s insulted, he can’t live. Apmaan ka badla toh lena padega,” Shah had reportedly said. Amid an outcry from political parties, which termed it a tactic to polarise the 2014 elections, the BJP had defended Shah’s statement saying that asking for revenge through vote was not inflammatory. to help us personalise your reading experience. Muzaffarnagar and its surrounding areas had witnessed communal riots last year in which more than 50 people were killed and a large number of victims were rendered homeless. (Indian Express 10/4/14) Two cops among 7 injured in communal clash in Jaipu r (7) Jaipur: Seven people, including two policemen, were injured when members of two communities indulged in arson after incidents of eve-teasing. Stones and acid bottles were hurled and three motorcycles set ablaze in Lodhon-ka-chowk area here last night after parents of some girls objected to certain indecent remarks passed by boys of another community, Deputy Commissioner of Police A Deep Singh Kapoor said today. The girls, who had allegedly been facing eve-teasing for past some time, were returning home last evening from their classes when the boys again passed remarks at them. Following this, both groups

started pelting stones at each other in which cops, who had rushed to the spot from different police stations, got injured, the DCP said. Station House Officer of TP Nagar police station Babulal Vishnoi and constable Prabhu Dayal were among the seven injured, he said, adding that the injured were rushed to a government hospital where they were given medical treatment. Two FIRs from either sides, and third one from police were lodged with the Motidungari police station. Ten persons of both sides were mentioned in the complaints. Two companies of Rajasthan Armed Forces have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order, Kapoor said, adding that the situation was now under control. (Zee news 18/4/14) 11 acquitted in Kandhamal riot case (7) PHULBANI (Odisha): A local court acquitted 11 persons due to lack of evidence in a case related to communal riots in Odisha's Kandhamal district. Additional District Judge (ADJ), Phulbani Rajendra Kumar Tosh yesterday acquitted all the 11 persons arrested in connection with the murder of Gopan Nayak of Gandagada village under Raikia police station limits in September 9, 2008. The 11 faced charges ranging from rioting, house burning, unlawful assembly with arms as well as other sections of the IPC. The police registered a case at Raikia police station against 12 accused involved in the incidents in September 2008. While the 11 persons were acquitted by the court, one accused is still at large. (Times of India 18/4/14) Communal riots rose by 25 per cent in 2013, says MH A data (7) New Delhi: The year before the Lok Sabha elections, 2013, saw communal rioting incidents in the country jumping by nearly 25 per cent, with Uttar Pradesh, which witnessed major religious clashes in Muzaffarnagar, being the worst affected with 247 incidents compared to 118 in 2012. Data from the Union home ministry (MHA) shows that states such as UP, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bihar saw a steady rise in communal violence during the rule of UPA-2. Gujarat recorded 68 cases of communal tension in 2013 in which 10 people died and 57 incidents in 2012 in which five people died. Karnataka recorded 73 cases in 2013 and 69 in 2012.MHA sources said communities were being polarised to vitiate the atmosphere for political gain. Alarmed by the statistics, the ministry has asked states to keep a check on politicians making provocative speeches to polarise voters. The Centre has also asked states to compile a list of all those who may try to stoke communal passions and have been involved in such acts in the past. The data shows Bihar, which saw violence in Nawada, registered 63 incidents of communal violence in 2013 in which seven people were killed and 283 injured. The state recorded 21 incidents in 2012 in which three people were killed and 172 injured. Maharashtra recorded 128 incidents in 2009 in which 22 people were killed and 389 injured. In 2010, the state saw 117 incidents in which 16 people were killed and 290 injured. In 2013, Maharashtra registered 88 incidents in which 12 people were killed and 352 injured. Rajasthan recorded 52 incidents in 2009 in which 10 people were killed and 140 injured. The number of incidents was the same in 2013 but only two persons were killed and 194 injured. The southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala also figure prominently in the list. In 2013, there were 36 incidents in Tamil Nadu in which three people were killed and 85 injured. In 2012, there were 14 incidents in which two persons were killed and 37 injured. Kerala registered 41 incidents in 2013 compared to 56 in the previous year. Andhra Pradesh too saw a decline in 2013 with 15 incidents compared to 60 in 2012. (Indian Express 27/4/14)

32 killed in 36 hours by Bodo militants in Assam, c urfew imposed (7) Guwahati: There seems to be no end to the bloodbath in Assam as seven more bodies have been found in Baksa district, taking the total death toll to 32 in the last 36 hours. This comes after suspected Bodoland militants killed at least 23 people in a span of 24 hours in Kokrajhar and Baksa districts of lower Assam. Curfew has been clamped in all of Kokrajhar, Baksa and Chirang, three of the four districts of the Bodoland area, and on contiguous areas in neighbouring districts. The Army has carried out flag marches, and shoot-on-sight orders have been issued in Kokrajhar and Baksa. The state government has

accused the Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) of carrying out the killings. All the victims are migrant Muslims. The government has denied any connection between the attacks and the Lok Sabha elections. However, one of the three massacres has taken place in a village that saw violence and the killing of a police constable as Kokrajhar went to polls on April 24. Around 7.30 pm on Thursday, militants shot dead two women and a man of a family in Narsingpara village in the Anandabazar police station area of Baksa district. The victims were identified as Shampa Bewa (55), Sona Miya (35) and Ramisa Khatun (32). Some five hours later, between 12.30 am and 1 am on Friday, four militants armed with at least two AK series rifles opened indiscriminate fire in Balapara village in the Tulsibeel outpost area of Gossaigaon police station in Kokrajhar district. Four women, a man and three children belonging to two Muslim families were killed. Late on Friday evening, 12 bodies were recovered in the villages of Narayanguri and Khagrabari adjoining each other on the fringes of Manas National Park in Baksa district, Assam home secretary G D Tripathi said. At least 10 people were injured, and several homes were reported to be on fire, he said. Tripathi said curfew had been clamped on those police station areas of Dhubri, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Nalbari, Darrang and Sonitpur districts that lay adjacent to the Bodoland districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri. In Baksa district, groups of non-tribals were fleeing on Friday evening for fear of more attacks. “There have been reports of villagers belonging to a particular community leaving their villages seeking safety in adjoining villages in Baksa after the third incident that occurred at Narayanguri and another village,” ADG (Special Branch) Pallab Bhattacharyya said. The attack in Balapara came at a time when most adult males have been staying away from their homes for fear of police, who have been looking for the killers of the constable at the polling booth on April 24. An angry mob set upon the policeman (Indian Express 3/5/14) Assam violence aimed at starting full-fledged commu nal conflagration: Shinde (7) New Delhi: With 32 people killed in Assam, the Centre said it is determined to curb attacks on minorities as the violence there was aimed at starting a “full-fledged communal conflagration”. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said that in the last few days, there have been wanton acts of depredation leading to death of 32 people, mostly women and children, and of them, 31 belonged to the minority community. “These innocent lives were lost at the hands of cadres of certain group. The objective of this group seems to be aimed at starting a full-fledged communal conflagration,” he said in a statement. Without naming NDFB(S), the Bodo militant group believed to be responsible for the violence, the Home Minister said these acts of violence have started only after the group started steadily losing its cadres either through surrender or elimination during operations when they opened fire on the forces. “The central government cannot remain unaffected by these killings and is determined to ensure the safety and security of innocent human lives. “This determination is all the more important since these incidents are targeted at the minorities,” he said. Strongly condemning the acts of the militant group, Shinde said the Home Ministry has already deployed 43 companies (4300 personnel) of central armed police forces and 10 more companies (1000 personnel) are being sent. He said Ministry of Defence also has deployed 15 columns of the army comprising of approximately 1500 soldiers. These numbers are not fixed and can be increased as per further requirement, he said. “My appeal to all is to maintain calm and quiet as the forces on the ground will definitely control the situation and bring the guilty to justice,” Shinde said. He said the public leaders of both Bodo and minority community must see to it that the situation does not deteriorate. (Indian Express 4/5/14) Home Ministry Delayed Communal Violence Bill: Rahma n Khan (7) NEW DELHI: Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan today said the Home Ministry had delayed the controversial Communal Violence Bill which ultimately could not become a law. "From the time I became the Minister I started pursuing that. I met the Home Minister, I met the Home Secretary .... Absolutely they were not keen," Khan said while interacting with members of Indian Women's Press Corps here. Asked whether he was holding the Home Ministry responsible for killing the bill, he said, "it was the bureaucratic

delay, where if bureaucrats want to delay, they can do it." He went on to add, "Sometimes, either you call it our weakness or political weakness or minister weakness, we were not able to pursue." Khan, who became Minority Affairs Minister in 2012 when Sushilkumar Shinde was the Home Minister, was talking about the Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill. He said the bill, which was finally approved by the cabinet, could not be passed since the "secular parties" also joined the opposition bandwagon in stalling the bill. "Ultimately we brought a bill, Cabinet approved it and we wanted to introduce. We knew we could not get it passed but still we introduced. But at the last moment the opposition raised that you have no right to introduce the bill because it is interference of the state. Even the secular parties opposed it," he added. .(Indian Express 7/5/14) Meerut sees ‘vested interests’ behind riots (7) NEW DELHI: An uneasy calm prevailed in Meerut’s Old City on Monday after a communal riot in Guzri Bazaar area of the city last Saturday afternoon left one dead and several injured. Residents remained huddled inside their houses as security personnel, deployed in huge numbers, kept a watch in the area. People of both Hindu and Muslim communities were unanimous in their opinion that the riots were instigated by some miscreants with the purpose to communally polarise voters in several parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh which went to polls on Monday. Violence started after an argument between two groups over the installation of a “piyau” (a kiosk offering free drinking water) next to a well outside a mosque in Guzri Bazaar. Those present at the spot claimed some Hindus objected to the minority community’s initiative to put up the water kiosk, alleging that it would later “encroach” the well which belongs to the adjacent Basanti Devi Girls School. This triggered a clash between two groups and soon tension spread to nearby areas of the Old City, where members of both the communities reportedly fired at each other, leaving many injured. Even as security was beefed up in the city, the situation remained tense on the ground with rumours of eve-teasing and weapons distribution keeping people locked up in their houses. Local Senior Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Singh said, “To restore peace and avert renewed clashes, patrolling has been intensified in the riot-hit areas and personnel from Provincial Armed Constabulary and Rapid Action force have been deployed.” Members of the minority community on Monday alleged that local BJP leaders uploaded photographs of a youth who was critically injured in the clashes on social networking sites, aiming to spread communal tension in other parts of communally sensitive region of Western Uttar Pradesh, a claim which local BJP corporator Vijay Anand rejected. Sitting few hundred meters away from the site of the clash, Suhail Zuberi, a Unani medical practitioner in his early 50s, said the “triviality” of the issue behind the clash makes it clear that riots are being triggered to make political gains. “Clashes are sparked to hijack and consolidate votes and it is in this context that people here see this incident, which has once again highlighted how fickle is the centuries-old Hindu-Muslim relation in front of the onslaught of politics of communal riots,” said Mr. Zuberi. Pointing towards prominent Hindi and Urdu dailies of the region, Mr. Zuberi said, “The news of communal riot has made it to the front pages of the vernacular press, which has only polarised people and consolidated votes in constituencies like Varanasi, and Gorakhpur, which went to polls today.” Abhimanyu Singh, a fruit vendor in the Kagzee Market, (paper market) seconded Mr. Zuberi. “Meerut has learnt to move on with life. We have reached a stage when the conspiracy to create hatred among us gets defeated by our search for better livelihood.” (The Hindu 13/5/14) Victims suffered multiple injuries in communal riot s (7) HYDERABAD: Armed personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) seemed to have fired indiscriminately on rioters on Wednesday with some of them hit by multiple bullets, underscoring complete failure of the Cyberabad police in directing the paramilitary force to exercise caution. Human rights activists wanted strong action against senior police officers, who ordered the BSF to fire, knowing well that they are trained to kill. Examination of bodies by the forensic science departments of Gandhi and Osmania General Hospital revealed multiple bullet injuries above the waist. Shockingly, Mohammed Fareed, 26,

one of the three victims, was felled by four bullets on various parts of his body. Bullets pierced through Fareed's chest, left hand, left thigh and left leg. In case of Mohammed Shujauddin Khateeb, 38, a bullet pierced through his chest, killing him instantly. The post-mortem on these two victims was conducted at OGH, while autopsy on the third victim, Mohammed Wajid, 20, was done at Gandhi Hospital where doctors said he had one bullet injury. Even among the injured victims, bullets were found mostly above the waist or in the thigh area. Among the five injured people admitted at Premier Hospital, Nanalnagar, bullet injuries were found on the upper arm and two in the forearm. In one case, bullet injury was found in the thigh. "Another injured victim was hit on his head requiring eight stitches," said Dr K Kamalakar, CEO, Premier Hospital. Similarly, at Apollo Hospital, where three injured persons have been admitted, one has a bullet injury in his lower chest that has harmed his other vital organs including kidney, liver and gall bladder. Another has bullet injury in the arm, while the third patient suffered a deep cut in the thigh. Bullets stuck in the thighs of two victims were removed at Care hospital. Human rights activists condemned the firing and said BSF when deployed in civilian areas cannot operate like they do in border areas. "They are a trigger-happy force and fire randomly. Action has to be taken against BSF personnel who fired at people," said Francis Raj, a human rights activist. "With President's rule in the state, police think it can do anything. It is not good for the state that will be bifurcated soon," Raj added. Activists said shooting was not required at that time. "Live ammunitions should never be used for crowd control," said Mazhar Hussain, executive director, COVA. "The flag burning incident was wrong but the reaction to the incident without ascertaining the identity of the people responsible for it was also wrong," said Nanak Singh Nishter, director, International Sikh Centre for Interfaith Relations. He further added that "culprits need to be punished whichever religion they belong to. We keep swords but we are not entitled to use them to harm others. Use of swords or stones to harm others cannot be supported," said Nishter. (Times of India 16/5/14) Amity still eludes tense, scared Muzaffarnagar (7) Muzaffarnagar: 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. (Pioneer 21/5/14) Communal clash in Faizabad village (7) FAIZABAD: Communal tension gripped Ibrahimpur village of Raunahi police station area after two groups clashed over the passage of a religious procession late on Saturday night. Police resorted to lathicharge and used teargas to control the mob. According to reports, around a dozen persons have been injured in the clash. Heavy contingent of police has been deployed at the affected area and other sensitive parts of the district. Faizabad had witnessed communal riots in October 2012 in which about a hundred shops were looted and burned, two people were killed and many were injured. (Times of India 25/5/14) Tension in Muzaffarnagar after abduction, gang rape (7) MEERUT: Communal tensions have erupted in the riot-affected Kakroli area of Muzaffarnagar after a gang rape. “A case of abduction and gang rape has been registered against Sonu, Saddam and Kamrulzama after a medical examination of the victim [their neighbour] confirmed rape, and they will be arrested soon,” Superintendent of Police (Crime) Rakesh Jolly told The Hindu on Sunday. The suspects allegedly abducted her when she was alone at home on Friday afternoon. When neighbours tried to save her, the accused threatened to kill them. A search was launched after her parents returned in the evening, and she was found in the nearby forests. The parents immediately took her to the Kakroli police station where a first information report was lodged. Last week, two youths gang-raped a postgraduate student and shot a video in the nearby Chaproli area of Baghpat district. They allegedly threatened the girl that if she tried to complain, they would upload the video on the Internet. She, however, gathered courage and filed a complaint with the police on Saturday. In another incident, the Bijnore police arrested a gram pradhan and the father of a girl for allegedly blackening the face of her lover and parading him with a garland of shoes at Nagina on Saturday on the orders of a kangaroo court. Another person was also arrested in the incident. “The matter is serious and we will arrest all the 11 persons who participated in the kangaroo panchayat,” Superintendent of Police Anis Ahmed Ansari told The Hindu on Sunday. Parents of the boy said he had not returned home after the humiliation. (The Hindu 26/5/14) Clash between two communities in Modi's heartland ( 7)

AHMEDABAD: The police fired tear gas to break up clashes between two communities in Narendra Modi's heartland of Gujarat on the eve of his swearing in as Prime Minister, officials said on Monday. Angry crowds set fire to several shops and vehicles and pelted stones at each other during the clashes in western Gujarat state's main city of Ahmedabad on Sunday night, police and fire officials said. Ahmedabad joint police commissioner Manoj Shashidhar said officers fired tear gas to halt the violence which left four people injured. Shashidhar said an investigation was under way into the clashes which appear to have started when two cars from the different communities crashed in an accident during a marriage procession. "The incident flared up following a petty argument between people of two communities on Sunday night in Gomtipur area of the city. The situation was immediately brought under control," Shashidhar told AFP. The incident escalated when mobs set property on fire, Ahmedabad chief fire officer M S Dastur told AFP. "Some three shops, one mini-bus and a couple of two wheelers were burnt during the incident," Dastur said. The clashes came as Modi, chief minister of Gujarat for 13 years, was set to be sworn as premier on Monday after a landslide victory in Lok Sabha elections as head of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Modi has pledged national unity as he attempts to revive the faltering economy, but he remains tainted by anti-Muslim riots on his watch in Gujarat in 2002 that left at least 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, dead. Modi has denied wrongdoing and a court investigation found he has no case to answer. But some members of religious minorities fear a rise in communal tensions under a Modi government and warn they will be sidelined at the expense of the Hindu majority. (Times of India 28/5/14) Most recommendations of Nanavati Commission already implemented: Phoolka (7) AMRITSAR/PATIALA: The recent statement of SAD leaders over the massacre of Sikhs in 1984 in Delhi that theyt would get the Nanavati Commission report implemented is contradictory to the fact that most of the recommendations of the commission were implemented by the Manmohan Singh-led UPA-I government, especially those against Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. Union cabinet minister Harsimarat Kaur Badal, daughter-in-law of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, had stated on Tuesday that Akali Dal would get the Nanavati report implemented in letter and spirit to get perpetrators of the heinous crime behind bars. The statement came after she took over as Union food processing minister in the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. However, contrary to this claim, months after Nanavati Commission report was tabled in Parliament in 2005, the then Union government had referred the cases against senior Congress leaders to CBI, which registered FIRs against Tytler and Sajjan. The report was submitted in February 2005 and tabled in Parliament in August the same year. CBI registered cases against Sajjan and Tytler in October and November 2005. The rehabilitation package announced by Manmohan Singh in 2006 and was not included in the recommendations made by the commission, said sources. "This is not a well thought-out statement. We must keep in mind that all recommendations of the Nanavati Commission have been implemented by the Central government. The commission had recommended registration of only four cases, against Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler. These four cases were registered and investigated by CBI. Making a hue and cry for its implementation now would serve no purpose and would be a wastage of time," said senior Supreme Court lawyer and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader H S Phoolka, who fought cases of riot victims and was "appreciated" by Justice G T Nanavati for his assistance rendered to the commission. "Rather, the only body that can dig out correct facts and bring perpetrators of crime to justice is the special investigation team (SIT)", said Phoolka. Asked to elaborate, Phoolka added, "Justice Nanavati had mentioned in his report that 241 cases were closed by police and were never sent for trial to courts. But, unfortunately, it recommended reopening of only four cases. Guilty could be punished if the leftover 237 cases were reopened. For this purpose, he said Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi had constituted an SIT to reinvestigate the 237 cases closed by the police. The Modi government should immediately make the SIT functional and get these 237 cases probed again." (Times of India 29/5/4) Muzaffarnagar riots’ inquiry panel records statemen ts of 33 victims (7)

Muzaffarnagar: The one-member judicial inquiry commission of Justice (Retd) Vishnu Sahai recorded the statements of 33 more victims here on Tuesday. More than 700 victims have submitted their affidavits to the commission in connection with the riots. Earlier, statements of 248 riot victims were recorded and the commission would continue recording the statements of rest of the victims, Justice Sahai said. Over 60 persons were killed and more than 40,000 displaced in communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in September last year. The commission was constituted on September 9 to probe the Muzaffarnagar violence starting from Kawal incident on August 27 till September 9. Failing to submit the report within the stipulated time of two months, the commission was granted an extension of six months in November last year. (Indian Express 4/6/14) Pune attack follows social media posts (7) Pune: The Pune police said Mohsin Shaikh from Solapur was beaten to death when he was on his way home after evening prayers. The incident was a fallout of communal tensions in the city after morphed images of Shivaji and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray were posted on Facebook. According to a senior police official, a group of youths from the Hindu Rashtra Sena took to the streets after the social media posts, targeting Muslim settlements. “Motorcycles found at the place where Mohsin was beaten up led to the suspects,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil said. Mobs from both sides had gathered, the police said. Riyaz, who was with Mohsin during the attack, told The Hindu: “I was saved because I don’t have a beard and wasn’t wearing a skullcap. Mohsin was targeted because his appearance revealed him to be a Muslim.” Riyaz said that Mohsin was beaten as he ran to seek help. He was admitted to a private hospital, where he died of injuries on Tuesday. (The Hindu 5/6/14) Twenty injured as Hindus, Muslims clash over sewer line in UP village (7) Shamli: They had been living harmoniously for decades until work on a sewer line ruptured ties between Hindus and Muslims at Chausana village in UP’s Shamli district late Wednesday night. The two communities clashed over displacement of a Hindu place of worship for the purpose of laying down a sewer pipeline, which was proposed by the Muslim pradhan of the village. While the Hindus were against it, the Muslims went ahead with the construction work leading to tension. A riot broke out in which more than 20 people were injured. Many suffered serious head injuries and were referred to hospitals in Delhi, Meerut and Chandigarh. Locals told The Indian Express the Muslims proposed an underground sewer line through the Hindu place of worship — an 80 square yard plot having idols of deities. After protests, it was decided that the sewer line would be diverted, but the sewage pipe would discharge the untreated water next to the plot. This infuriated the Hindus who opposed the proposal. On Wednesday, around 10 pm, when the Muslims were working on the site, a 90-year-old Hindu woman alerted her sons and soon a large group reached the site to stop the construction. When the Muslims saw them coming, they called their men and a clash broke out. Both sides reportedly used bricks, stones, lathis and swords. While police called it just a “clash”, a case of rioting and attempt to murder has been registered on the complaints of both communities. While the Muslims claimed they started the work only after the Hindus gave their consent, the Hindus claimed otherwise. Munni (32), whose husband sustained a severe head injury, said the moment the clash broke out, she ran to the police outpost barely 100 metres away, and the officers on duty ignored her. “I told them that our men were getting killed but the two officers sat there sipping tea. They asked me to go home and wait till one or two people are dead and then approach them,” she said. “I ran to the spot myself. When I reached there I saw two of our men lying on the ground bleeding profusely. With the help of my neighbour and children, I dragged the two of them to a safe place.” She alleged that when she arranged for a car to rush his husband and other injured to the hospital, the Muslims blocked all the exit points of the village. “The police came after everything was over. They just took a round and said everything is ok. When I asked them as to why they did not take action, they said they did not have orders from above,” she said. The family of the pradhan, Mohammad Irshad,

however, alleged the Hindus came armed and attacked them. “We were just doing our work… (Indian Express 6/6/14) 2 mosques burnt in riot-hit Mewat village, curfew o n (7) Tauru: At least two mosques, one barely 100 metres away from a police station, were gutted during clashes between Hindus and Muslims following a road accident in Tauru, 35 km from Gurgaon, in Mewat Sunday. At least 15 people, including a DSP, were injured in the clashes. Curfew has been clamped in the area where paramilitary and police personnel have been deployed in strength. Flag marches were staged Monday as shops downed shutters and streets wore a deserted look. The clashes broke out after 20-year-old Danveer, returning home on a motorcycle, was knocked down by a dumper around 7.30 am Sunday. Angry residents gathered and assaulted the dumper driver Raees, 35, and helper Mubarak, 18. But word spread that the mob had killed the duo. Muslims from adjoining villages landed in Tauru, allegedly carrying weapons. Eyewitnesses claimed that some in the large crowd opened fire and looted shops near the bus stand. Kiran Devi, whose 12-year old son was hit by a bullet, said, “Rohit had gone out to buy groceries when he was hit by a bullet in the abdomen. He is undergoing treatment at Artemis Hospital in Gurgaon.” Three others, also seriously injured, are admitted in the same hospital. Pointing towards the broken windows of the SBI branch, customer executive Vishal Sharma said many in the mob were carrying lathis. “They broke in and took away everything that they could. The Allahabad Bank branch next to ours was also targeted.” Anil Taneja, whose mobile shop was allegedly looted, said, “When we saw the mob approaching, we fled. I lost goods worth Rs 3.5 lakh. They smashed all counters and windows.” It is alleged that the mob stoned a Shiva temple on Bawla road. Minutes later, two mosques — Jama Masjid hardly 100 metres from the police station, and Qureshiya mosque a little further — were set ablaze. Mohammad Abdullah, Imam of Jama Masjid,said, “I saw groups of men gather in the locality and thought it safe to leave the place. So, I locked the mosque and went home. At night, a police team informed me that the mosque had been burnt and escorted me there.” But Raj Kumar Mittal, local councillor and president of Tauru Traders Union, denied that Hindus were behind the destruction of the mosques and a shop. “The shop was burnt due to a short circuit but the owner blamed it on us. In the case of Jama Masjid, a youth smoking near the mosque threw a cigarette on a straw mat, which caught fire and burnt the mosque,” Mittal claimed. Blaming politicians for “inciting the Muslims”, he demanded a CBI probe into the riots. …(Indian Express 10/6/14) Riot-displaced given 3-day ultimatum to leave camps (7) Muzaffarnagar: Displaced villagers who have been living in camps on government land in neighbouring Shamli district since the Muzaffarnagar communal riots in September last year have been asked to vacate them within three days by authorities. Subdivisional Magistrate Suresh Kumar Mishra on Saturday said that a team of government officials visited the camps on Friday and “appealed” to the riot-displaced people to return to their native villages within three days. “They would not be allowed to stay on government land. They have been asked to vacate the camps,” he told reporters. These camps are located in Malakpura, Narpur Khurgan, Akbarpur and Sunethi villages in Shamli district. More than 250 families, who fled their homes after the communal riots that claimed over 60 lives, are believed to be staying in camps in these places in Shamli district, 100 km from the national capital. (Indian Express 14/6/14) BKU leaders booked for inciting communal passions ( 7) MEERUT: Prohibitory orders have been issued in Shamli district after local people burnt effigies of Bharatiya Kisan Union leaders who allegedly made inflammatory speeches with the potential to set off communal tension at a mahapanchayat on June 13. Muzaffarnagar and its adjoining areas have been communally charged in the wake of remarks allegedly made by BKU president Naresh Tikait and district youth wing chief Puran Singh, who spoke at the Sarv Khap Mahapanchayat in Dulhera village of

Muzaffarnagar district. SSP Muzaffarnagar HN Singh said, "Security has been tightened in the entire region. No one will be allowed to disturb communal harmony." In the mahapanchayat, which was attended by khap chaudharys of dozens of villages in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts, speakers demanded that the state's Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act, 1986 be invoked against those involved in the riots of August-September last year in Muzaffarnagar. They also demanded that fast track courts be set up to punish the culprits. Some speakers said the circle officer of Shahpur should be terminated from service. During his speech, Tikait said all people in India must live like Indians. Referring to the incident that reportedly sparked the riots last year, the murder of a Muslim youth allegedly for teasing a Hindu a girl in Kawal village of Muzaffarnagar district, Tikait said that was "only a trailer". He alleged that the state government had been sheltering a particular section of society. "If we come to our own, we will force 'them' to leave India", he had said. Speaking of the cases slapped against him, Tikait said, "It seems it has become a sin to protect our women. I had commented on the perpetrators of crime and the state government has slapped these false cases against us." The panchayat of June 13 was held to denounce an incident of gang rape of a woman who was returning to Dulhera from Shahpur village on June 3. The woman was abducted and brutally raped in a graveyard by 11 people. Eight of the accused have so far been arrested. Members of the minority community have reacted with outrage to the comments allegedly made by the BKU leaders. Effigies of Tikait were burnt at various places in Shahpur, Shamli, and Budhana. Considering the sensitivity of the situation, the city administration booked the two BHU leaders on June 16 for inciting communal tension through inflammatory speeches. Kaushal Raj Sharma, district magistrate, Muzaffarnagar, said, "After a thorough investigation, a case was registered against Naresh Tikait and Puran Singh for making inflammatory remarks and violating prohibitory orders." A case has been booked under Sections 188 (disobedience of order promulgated by public servant) and 153a (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code, the police officer said. Meanwhile, the Shamli administration has issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 (preventing assembly of more than five people) of the Criminal Procedure Code in the backdrop of protests by Muslims. (Times of India 18/6/14) Nanavati panel seeks review of HC order about Sanji v Bhatt (7) AHMEDABAD: The Nanavati commission probing the 2002 riots has moved the Gujarat high court for a review of the latter's order asking the probe panel to supply all intelligence documents to suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt. In a review petition filed on Wednesday, the commission argued the court could not issue such an order. The HC had earlier asked the probe panel to supply Bhatt all intelligence documents - even those that were classified - for inspection. Justice G T Nanavati, the inquiry commission's chairman, said they had sought a review of the order. A division bench is likely to take up the matter on Thursday. On Monday the HC had directed the commission to allow Bhatt to inspect all state IB documents so he could file an affidavit. Last October the HC had asked the state government to supply the suspended IPS officer all the 47 documents he had sought for inspection, even if they were classified. The government had raised the matter of relevance and confidentiality to oppose the HC order, but the court had rejected the objections. Since the HC was unmoved on the issue of relevance and permitted Bhatt to begin inspection within three days and file the affidavit by June 27, he went to the commission. But the probe panel provided him only those documents that were not classified and told him it would seek a review of the HC order. Bhatt refused to inspect the documents that had been supplied to him earlier also. Bhatt has been demanding these documents of the subsidiary intelligence bureau to depose before the commission. In 2011 he had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, alleging the SIT had tried to shield then chief minister Narendra Modi and others by not recording his statement implicating them in offences such as the Gulbarg Society massacre that had taken place after the Godhra carnage. In October 2012 advocate general Kamal Trivedi had assured the HC all documents would be supplied to Bhatt for inspection. But the government supplied only 14 documents to the probe panel and withheld 23

others on the grounds they were classified. Of the 15 documents given to the panel, the government recommended only five be given to the suspended police officer. (Times of India 19/6/14) Mamata: Will not allow communal violence in state ( 7) KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday brushed aside allegations that her government was appeasing the minorities ignoring the interests of the Hindus. "Some are saying that we are only focusing on the minorities and not the Hindus. You should have the eyes to see the overall development," she said, adding that state the government is also renovating the house of Swami Vivekananda. "There are people who indulge in divisive politics. Swami Vivekananda had said that one day people from the lowest section of the society will lead the country. If one section of the society needs development, the other sections should come forward and help them. There is no place for violence in democracy. There is no place for conspiracy in development. Let there be development for everybody. It is our responsibility to help the downtrodden," she added. Some people, the chief minister said, tend to react when they hear the word minority. "I don't understand why. I am a Bengali. I am a minority in Assam. Everybody will belong to the minority community in some place or the other. This must be accepted. It is the duty of the majority to come forward for the development of the minority," she said at a programme on offering of loans, scholarship and other benefits for minority welfare at the Netaji Indoor Stadium. "This is how a bridge of trust is built. There should be competition on the basis of the development work done, not by being jealous. We are working for anyone who needs development. Helping them, standing by them is our moral responsibility," she said, adding that she had heard questions being raised about the state government's giving sops to the Muslims. She asked "Why won't we not do it? Certainly, I will do it. I will do so for whoever is needy," she added. "I am against riots. I abhor the idea of inciting communal tension. Criminals are criminals. Even for petty cases like theft some sections search for communal links. We should not bring religion here. Criminals do not have any caste, creed or religion. Those guilty of crimes will be punished according to the law," she said. Mamata also said: "We wan't to ensure that our brothers and sisters pursue their studies properly, receive training and get jobs. And, those who cannot get jobs, can start business by taking loans from the government," she said. (Times of India 20/6/14) UPA's Communal Violence Bill Put on Back Burner by NDA Govt? (7) NEW DELHI: The Communal Violence Bill, an initiative of the previous UPA regime, seems to have been put on the back burner by the NDA government with the Home Ministry unlikely to push the controversial legislation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dubbed the bill as a "recipe for disaster" when he was chief minister of Gujarat. Home Ministry officials said there has been no discussion at all on the 'Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill ever since the new government assumed charge and the legislation did not figure in any discussions either with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Rajnath Singh. "The bill is not in sync with the new government's thinking. So, we have decided not to bring it into the table," a Home Ministry official said. The UPA government, which tried to enact the bill with stringent punitive provisions, had faced strong opposition from BJP and several chief ministers, including West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee and Tamil Nadu's J Jayalalithaa. Just before the last session of the 15th Lok Sabha in February, the UPA government tried to bring the draft bill to the House by dropping several provisions including making it neutral to all communities and reducing the role of the central government in case of riots. Earlier the bill specifically mentioned that the onus of riots lies on the majority community. The draft bill is made neutral to all groups or communities and the central government will not have any alleged over-riding powers anywhere. Besides, the central government's role will largely be of coordination and will act only when the state government seeks help. Earlier, the Centre was given unilateral powers to send central paramilitary forces in case of communal violence without consulting the state government. However, there were no takers for even the diluted version of the legislation. BJP had been maintaining it opposed to it on the

ground that it would be a "threat to India's communal harmony".In a letter to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Modi termed the bill as a "recipe for disaster" and said the timing to bring the bill was "suspicious owing to political considerations and vote bank politics, rather than genuine concerns". (New Indian Express 24/6/14)

Fear of communal tension over murder of police offi cer in Manipur (7) IMPHAL: Home Minister Gaikhangam Gangmei and many sections of people fear that the murder of one police sub inspector Krishnadas Mayengbam on June 21 night near the FCI godown at Sagaiprou may snowball into a communal flare up. In the recent past charges of fomenting communal trouble had been traded between Gangmei and action committee which was formed to spearhead agitations demanding justice to the slain police officer. The police officer was stabbed to death on the fateful night. The finger of suspicion is pointed at a definite direction. However police are detaining Krishna Chandra with whom Mayangbam had reportedly gone to an illegal drinking joint for imbibing some drinks. The action committee told reporters on Tuesday that police had picked up Chandra on the plea to seek his assistance since he was the last person to see Mayangbam alive. One woman kiosk owner, Babina Takhellambam told reporters that after drinks the two persons had bought some eatables from her. Then both of them had gone towards their own homes. Very interestingly, the dead police officer was found holding a pouch of country liquor. But his hands were bloody and they were not in a position to hold the pouch. The agitating people have been demanding resignation of the home minister as the murderers have not been arrested so far. Meanwhile the action committees formed on behalf of Mayengbam and Chandra have announced on Tuesday that if the killers are not arrested and Chandra who is "innocent" is not released they will launch more intensified agitations from Wednesday. Police are on alert in the troubled areas. (The Hindu 1/7/14) Communal flare-up in Noida village leaves four inju red (7) Noida: A communal flare-up in Sarfabad village in Noida — 21 km from Delhi — late on Monday left four Muslims injured after a room they used for prayers was found desecrated. Police said miscreants also pelted stones at the room and nearby houses for almost half an hour before police dispersed the mob. According to police, Muslims of the village had just finished their prayers when the skirmish began around 10.30 pm. “We have arrested five suspects and a case has been filed under relevant sections of the IPC,” Gautam Buddh Nagar SSP Dr Preetinder Singh said. He said additional forces from Hapur, Bulandshahr and Ghaziabad were deployed in the area in addition to Noida police to prevent any escalation in tension. “We are investigating the allegations of desecration. If found true, relevant sections will be added in the chargesheet for hurting religious sentiments. There was some disagreement between the two parties regarding the construction and expansion of that prayer room, and we are looking into the matter,” Singh said. Trouble began three years ago after residents of the village opposed the building of a larger prayer room for Muslims. “They say we should confine our prayers to our houses only. They would not let us expand the room into a proper prayer house. For the past three years this dispute has been raging and we have already had two incidents over this,” a resident said. According to Uday Ram, the village pradhan, the dispute revolves around allowing Muslims from other villages into Sarfabad for prayers. “In the past, we have had Muslims from outside the village conducting prayers and meetings in our village. That is not acceptable to many people which is why they are opposed to the construction of that prayer house,” he said. A police officer said for three years, a number of meetings between the two communities have taken place on the issue but to little avail. “Technically, a mosque or even a madrassa cannot be built on that land since it belongs to the government and the local residents do not have the necessary permission. But they have no intention of building a mosque. They just want a bigger prayer house,” the officer said. (Indian Express 2/7/14)

UP in trouble: Communal clashes emerging in state ( 7) LUCKNOW: The seething communal tension in Uttar Pradesh is again emerging in the form of small clashes. Post Lok Sabha elections, 13 incidents of communal clashes have left five persons dead and over 100 injured in the state. Though of low intensity, these clashes pose a serious law and order concern in the state, which is yet to recover from the scars of last year's Muzaffarnagar riots. Nearly half of these clashes occurred over petty disputes on use of loudspeakers in a religious place or playing of drums and use of firecrackers in processions. A series of similar incidents, after SP government came to power in 2012, had surcharged communal atmosphere which snowballed in the form of large scale riots in Muzaffarnagar. Moradabad, which saw clashes between police and BJP workers on Friday, had been simmering since June 27 when police removed a loudspeaker from a temple in a village of Kanth area on the application of local MLA Anees-ur-Rehman. Three communal clashes have occurred in Meerut since May. While on May 10, two communities clashed over the construction of a water kiosk near a mosque, leaving one dead and seven injured, a dispute over fire works led to clash in Delhigate on June 2. A woman was critically injured by a stray bullet at Lisari village on June 19 when a dispute over the use of a loudspeaker led to clash between two communities. On May 23, two students of Darul Uloom Deoband, Abu Azmi and Mohammad Mubarik, were shot at in Muzaffarnagar by two gunmen when they were on their way to the institute. Mubarik later succumbed to his injuries. Seven persons were injured in Gajadharpur area of Pratapgarh on May 24 after two communities clashed with each other, indulging in arson and rioting, over dispute on bursting crackers during a function. In Faizabad, communal tension erupted after two groups of different communities clashed over the dispute on route of a religious procession in Ibrahimpur Village on May 24. About a dozen persons were injured in the clash. In Bahraich, a minor dispute over payment of paan masala snowballed into a group clash at Begumpur Bazaar on May 25. The two sides threw stones, bricks and bottles at each other, leaving 10 persons injured. Similarly, on June 2, a minor dispute over playing of dhol (drum) in a religious procession led to clashes in Kurrampur village of Saharanpur. In Shamli, at least 20 people were injured when two groups belonging to separate communities clashed over a land dispute at Chousana village in Shamli district on June 5. Six persons were injured at Sarfabad village of Gautam Budh Nagar on June 30 following clashes between two communities over a dispute related to construction work in a religious place. On July 2, two persons were killed in a firing incident between two parties in Shahjahanpur. The clash occurred over a dispute between a tea-stall owner, Sudhir Kumar and Tasaduq, who runs a wood shop, neighbouring Kumar's stall. Sudhir and his cousin Dilip were killed in the firing. Six persons were injured on July 3 in a communal clash in Khamini village of Mathura over dispute on construction work at a religious place. (Times of India 5/7/14) Gulberg society massacre: Court asks SIT to submit papers (7) Ahmedabad: A special designated court on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team to submit all the documents related to the 2002 Gulberg society massacre case within 15 days. Special judge K K Bhatt passed the order in response to an application by the witnesses of the massacre, their lawyer SM Vora said. The SIT investigation into the charges of conspiracy against former Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and others gave a clean chit to the current Prime Minister in its closure report on February 8, 2012. “Since documents related to their investigation are also related to the Gulbarg case, the special court had ruled two years ago that they be produced before it. The SIT sought a revision of this order, but withdrew its revision petition last month. Therefore I approached the court and said the agency must now comply with the order of the special court and submit the documents. The court has given 15 days time,” Mr. Vora told The Hindu. A total of 69 people were killed in the Gulberg massacre, including former Congress Ehsan Jafri. When the SIT gave a clean chit to Mr. Modi in 2012, Mr. Jafri’s wife Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition against their report before the metropolitan magistrate B J Ganatra in 2013. However, her petition was turned down. She then approached the Gujarat High Court

this March challenging the lower court’s order upholding SIT’s clean chit to Mr. Modi. The Gulbarg society case is among the nine riots cases probed by the SIT. (The Hindu 9/7/14) Bihar: 2 killed after row over WhatsApp message (7) Sasaram: Two youth were killed and seven injured at Akbarpur village in Rohtas on Tuesday in an incident sparked off by a message exchanged between friends from two different communities on WhatsApp. The message allegedly had communal undertones and the offended community went on a rampage, attacking several shops, which set off panic in the area. Soon after the offensive message’s sender was identified, Rohtas police station in-charge Mithilesh Kumar Jaiswal detained and relocated him away from the mob. However, rumours spread that the boy had been killed in police custody and the body been disposed of secretly. His family, not finding him at the local police station, started accusing the police. Soon, a large crowd gathered and attacked a police party and torched its vehicle. Immediately thereafter, the police station came under heavy brick batting and isolated gunfire from country-made weapons. Several officials, policemen and CRPF jawans sustained injuries. An SLR rifle of a SAP jawan was also snatched. The police opened fire in which two persons are said to have died, while the condition of CRPF jawans Chetan Desai and KK Yadav, who sustained injuries, is said to be critical. Sasaram BJP MP Chhedi Paswan told the HT on phone from Delhi that the SHO of Rohtas police station was responsible for the entire episode and demanded strict action against him. The situation is under control and top police officials are camping at the site. Main towns of Sasaram, Dehri, Dinara, Bikramganj and other sensitive places in Rohtas district have been put on high alert. (Hindustan Times 10/7/14) Marad riots case: SC grants bail to 22 accused (7) NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to 22 accused, sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court and confirmed by the Kerala High Court, in the second Marad riots case despite objections raised by the Kerala government that the riot area was still “communally sensitive.” A Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and P.K. Ghose refused to impose any restrictive conditions on the accused before enlarging them on bail, asking the Kerala government to approach the trial court if they want to. The Bench said the accused had already spent 11 years in jail since their arrest in 2003 and there was no point in them continuing behind bars as their criminal appeals against the High Court verdict were pending before the apex court and would take time to be decided on. Nine persons were killed and many others injured in violence between two communities on the Marad beach at Beypore constituency in Kozhikode district of Kerala on May 2, 2003. The Court had earlier allowed bail to 23 other accused, including P.P. Moideen Koya, former president of the IUML Beypore constituency, in the same case. Even then, the reason for bail was the extended period of incarceration of the accused. In the earlier order, the court drew attention to the social circumstances of the accused. It had pointed to the long period that the accused - “daily wage labourers eking out a living as coolies and fishermen” - had spent in jail without bail and the “irrevocable financial difficulties” that their families had to suffer. (The Hindu 15/7/14) Now 5 attacks in 9 days on BJP leaders in UP; 1 mor e dead (7) Lucknow: Rakesh Kumar Rastogi, who was found strangulated to death Saturday morning in Baheri area of Bareilly district, was the latest BJP leader to come under attack in Uttar Pradesh over less than 10 days. In that time, two other BJP leaders have been killed, a BJP MP has been attacked and the mother of another senior BJP leader has been shot at. In all the incidents, the BJP has accused leaders of the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP). On June 12, a BJP delegation met Governor B L Joshi seeking action against the state government, accusing that party workers were being attacked at the behest of SP leaders. The BJP has formed a panel of state leaders to look into such attacks and to hold protests. Party spokesperson Chandra Mohan said the attacks were “an attempt to discourage BJP workers in UP”, given the party’s unprecedented performance in the state in the recent polls. Denying the BJP charge, SP

spokesperson and Cabinet Minister Rajendra Chaudhary said, “These allegations are baseless and politically motivated.” (Indian Express 16/7/14) Communal divide in west UP threatens to put peace a t risk (7) LUCKNOW: Communal incidents in the last one month have threatened to disrupt communal peace in the western part of the state. The state intelligence department has cited reports to alert the state government even as Bharatiya Janata Party is leading demonstrations against the ruling Samajwadi Party. The intriguing feature of the series of communal incidents is that temples and places of worship of dalits are being targeted, pushing Muslims and dalits into bloody battles against each other. Bahujan Samaj Party's traditional support base is shrinking while BJP gains from the situation. In Moradabad's Kaanth, a loudspeaker from a dalit temple was removed by the administration on the demand of agitating Muslims. In Hathras, a dalit woman immolated herself after she was gang-raped and police failed to book the accused, who were all Muslims. In Badaun, a Ravidas mandir was vandalized; in Meerut a Valmiki temple was desecrated. In the last one month, dalits have been at the receiving end of trouble mongers supported by BJP. Communal incidents ranging from minor to major intensity have been reported recently from Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Moradabad, Sambhal, Saharanpur, Bareilly and Badaun districts, leaving behind a communal divide and a trail of violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims. "The interesting thing is the recurrence of communal clashes almost every third or fourth day and violence between the two communities remaining unabated despite repeated warnings by the chief minister and monitoring by chief secretary Alok Ranjan," observed a senior officer in the intelligence department of the state police. He said the state government is being regularly apprised of the prevailing situation. Principal secretary Rakesh Bahadur too had visited western UP. Muzaffarnagar district which drew national attention following communal carnage in November 2013 remains under attack. The first major communal violence in the Akhilesh Yadav government was reported from Kosikalan in Mathura in May 2012 in which five people were killed and several others injured. SSP Dharamvir Yadav faced flak for not handling the situation properly. He was removed but managed to get posted in Moradabad and now Kaanth is burning. The ruling Samajwadi Party refuses to learn from its past mistakes. When dalits protest against desecration of their temples, BJP comes to their rescue and supports them against Muslims. In Kaanth, when the administration removed the loudspeaker from Ravidas temple, BJP MP Sarvesh Kumar Singh led the agitation and supported dalits. Whether in Meerut, Badaun, Saharanpur, or Sambhal, similar intervention by BJP has been noticed. "There is no denying that Muzaffarnagar riots pushed jatavs and other dalit members into the BJP camp in the 2014 elections. At a time when BSP is staying away from the bypolls to be held sooner or later, BJP is projecting itself as their saviour," observes Ashutosh Mishra, professor in the political science department of Lucknow University. BSP founder Kanshi Ram, in late the 80s, brought Muslims and dalits under his party's umbrella. In the first election in 1989 when BSP had contested and won 13 seats, the leader of the legislature party was Sheikh Suleman. Such was the integration of Muslims and dalits in the BSP, but now, either by design or by default, the two communities are disintegrating, at least in the western UP, politically as well as socially. (Times of India 21/7/14) Religious spot stoned, communal tension in Bareilly village (7) BAREILLY: Communal tension rocked Kamalpur village under the Cantonment police station in Bareilly on Sunday, after miscreants flung stones at a religious spot. Members of the two communities gathered at the spot, creating tension. However, police arrived just in time and eased the situation. The stone-pelting occurred on Sunday night, around 11:30 pm. The stones damaged a tin shade of the religious spot. Some local people rushed to the spot, and the mischief-mongers jumped over a wall and fled under the cover the darkness. Members of both communities gathered at the spot on hearing the commotion, and the local administration began to apprehend trouble. A large number of police personnel reached the spot, and managed to pacify the crowd. SP City Rajeev Malhotra said, "Some anti-social elements threw stones on a religious spot. Police reached in the nick of time and managed to control the situation. A

police picket has been deployed in the communally sensitive village, which has seen communal riots in the past." Inspector Devendra Rathi of the Cantonment police station said, "The matter is under investigation. Police is attempting to trace the accused. Strict action will be taken against those found guilty." (Times of India 21/7/14) Police arrests members of a gang involved in Juni G hadi riot (7) VADODARA: Did notorious members of criminal gangs in the city play a role in the communal riots that rocked the walled city some days ago? Police arrested two members of a gang for their involvement in riots and also took two other gangsters into preventive custody. Though the police have been cracking down on criminal gangs after the riots in Juni Ghadi and Nani Chhipwad area on July 18, it has denied any direct involvement of the gangs in instigating the riots. The police arrested Azzharuddin alias Azzu Abdul Majid Sheikh and Tausif Sheikh, members of the Bichhu gang led by notorious criminal, Aslam Bodiyo. The cops said both Azzu and Taufik were present in the mob when the rioting occurred in Juni Ghadi. "Investigations showed that both of them were in the mob that began rioting in the walled city. So we have arrested the duo and are inquiring about involvement of others in the riots. Prima facie it seems that the duo hadn't instigated the mob," said a police official. City police commissioner, Satish Sharma too said the criminal gangs didn't seem to have a direct role in the riots. "We have taken Aslam Bodiyo and his accomplice Munna alias Tadbuch in preventive custody. Such arrests are done to prevent further trouble and maintain peace," Sharma told TOI. Their accomplice Rafiq Fafda too has been taken into custody. Many more history-sheeters are expected to be arrested to prevent untoward incidents in the communally sensitive areas. The police had earlier arrested four persons after their names surfaced in the communal riots that occurred in Juni Ghadi and Nani Chhipwad. Mobs of two communities had clashed with each other during the riots that occurred after a shop-owner had heated arguments with an autorickshaw driver in Juni Ghadi. While the police managed to quell the riots immediately, another round of riots began in the same area after an hour. The cops had lobbed 16 teargas shells to disperse the rioting mob that damaged dozens of vehicles. Five separate FIRs were registered at the city police station and it was suspected that the riots were instigated deliberately by some persons. (Times of India 23/7/14) Seer murder: Crime branch seeks Panda's remand (7) BHUBANESWAR: The crime branch (CB) has sought remand of Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda in connection with the murder of Swami LaxmananandaSaraswati in August 2008 and attack on district headquarter town of Nayagarh in February 2008. "We have moved courts in Phulbani and Nayagarh seeking remand of Sabyasachi as he is the prime accused in at least nine sensitive cases being probed by us," additional director general (CB) Bijay Sharma told TOI. "We have prayed the courts to allow us to bring him to Cuttack for interrogation," he added. The cases in question include landmine explosion in which five people, including a pregnant woman and her three-year-old daughter and a woman health worker, going in an ambulance died at Brahmanigaon in Kandhamal district in November 2010, attack on a police party in Gosma forests in February 2008, loot of Nayagarh armoury in February 2008, police said. The CB's petition follow the Justice A S Naidu Commission's move to soon quiz Sabyasachi, who is currently on police remand, through video conferencing. The commission is inquiring into Saraswati's killing and the ethno-communal riots in its aftermath in Kandhamal. The Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati Smruti Samiti, a body working to promote the saffron leader's cause, has demanded that CBI probe into the senior VHP leader's assassination. "A CBI inquiry can expose the conspiracy behind the killing," the samiti's leader Laxmikanta Dash said, demanding strong action against Maoists Sabyasachi and Azad for their alleged role in the slaying. This coincided with the state government's revision petition, challenging the Berhampur sub-divisional judicial magistrate's order allowing presence of a family member or counsel during police interrogation of Sabyasachi, failing to come up for hearing at the district and sessions court in Berhampur due to ceasework agitation by lawyers. Members of Ganjam Bar Association paralyzed court works in protest against alleged police assault on a lawyer in Bhubaneswar on July 16. They want a

judicial inquiry into the incident. On Tuesday, the court deferred hearing on the petition, which was filed the previous day, and issued a fresh notice to Sabyasachi, allowing his lawyer to appear on his behalf. Police had refused to take him to court citing security reasons. The Maoist leader is in police custody after SDJM court granted 10-day remand on July 19. Hearing is likely to be held on Thursday, said public prosecutor Jameswar Mishra. Sabyasachi's lawyer Deepak Patnaik said his client has given him a six-page petition and he will place it before the court once it resumes functioning. He did not disclose the petition's content. Sabyasachi was arrested from Mangalvarempeta Street under Bada Bazaar police limits here late on July 17. (Times of India 24/7/14) Saharanpur communal riots: 20 arrested, curfew ‘str ictly implemented’ (7) SAHARANPUR/LUCKNOW: An uneasy calm prevailed in violence-hit Saharanpur on Sunday where 20 people were arrested even as curfew and shoot-at-sight orders remained in force following clashes between two communities over a land dispute. Uttar Pradesh additional director general of police (law and order) Mukul Goel said, "No incident has been reported since on Saturday. Curfew is in force and is being enforced strictly." He said steps were being taken to normalize the situation at the earliest. "It has been directed that action should be taken against whosoever is found guilty," he said in Lucknow. Saharanpur district magistrate Sandhya Tiwari, who toured the violence-hit areas, said, "The situation is better than yesterday. I have to just impose law and order in the city and the situation is quite normal now." She said 20 people have been arrested in connection with the violence. On the land dispute, Tiwari said, "I'm not going into it ... The construction is on hold." Three people were killed and 19 others, including policemen, injured in the clashes on Saturday as mobs indulged in arson after which curfew was clamped and shoot at sight ordered. Prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC have been invoked in the district and curfew was clamped in six areas, according to Tanveer Zafar Ali, commissioner, Saharanpur. Meanwhile, a political blame game has begun over the violence with Congress accusing the UP government of "administrative lapse" while BJP alleged that Samajwadi Party was indulging in "vote-bank politics".Reacting to the charges, Samajwadi Party said there was an effort to "disrupt peace in the state" and that there was "no place for communalism, anti-social elements".SP leader Rajendra Chaudhary said that if the opposition tried to do politics on the issue, then the law will take its own course. Blaming the local authorities for "administrative lapse", Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that if it was a fact that there was a court judgment on the issue and police help was sought by one side, then it was the responsibility of the officials to find a solution by making both sides understand that the court order must be implemented. BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said, "The UP government has completely failed to run the administration in the state. The people ruling the state themselves want that there is communal tension so that they do vote-bank politics. "BJP wants amity and peace. Every person has the right to worship and nobody has the right to interfere in that. But Akhilesh Yadav's government is weak on every front. A message has gone that there is nothing called government in the state. Whenever there are such tense situations, the government proves to be incompetent." ..(Times of India 28/7/14) Curfew in Jharkhand after communal riots, one dead (7) RANCHI: Violent clashes broke out in Ranchi district of Jharkhand over a land dispute between two communities on Tuesday coincidentally when the state celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr. DIG Ranchi range confirmed that one person succumbed to his injuries while around 20 of them sustained injuries during clashes in Chanho block, 40 km from here, in rural Ranchi. Including Ranchi SP (rural) S K Jha around 10 policemen sustained minor injuries when they tried to control the mob. Over 500 security personnel with all protection equipment were deployed in the area where tension continues to prevail. "One person has succumbed to his injuries while 20-odd have been injured. All injured have been taken to RIMS for treatment. Curfew has been imposed in affected parts of Chanho block and security personnel are conducting marches to ensure peace," said DIG Praveen Kumar Singh. A group of people from a community had gathered at a disputed land in Chanho to offer prayers which was opposed by another

group of people. One group claims that the land belongs to them. Another group claims that the other group has unlawfully encroached the land. Bitter arguments between them were followed by stone pelting between the two communities in which several people were injured. Commissioner for South Chhotanagpur division K K Khandelwal said: "We are keeping a close watch on the situation. Now it is under control. Senior officers are camping here to ensure that the situation does not flare up." (Times of India 29/7/14)

Express investigation part-I: Over 600 ‘communal in cidents’ in UP since LS results, (7) Moradabad: A third of all “communal” incidents recorded by police in Uttar Pradesh in the 10 weeks following the Lok Sabha election results have occurred in — or on the fringes of — 12 assembly constituencies that are scheduled to go to polls over the next few months. If a larger circle is imagined — covering broadly the region around these constituencies — this proportion rises to two-thirds, police records scrutinised by The Indian Express show. The records show a running strand of attempts made by an aggressive BJP, a desperate SP, and a flagging BSP to turn every clash involving individuals from the two largest religious communities into a communal issue. There is also clear evidence of provocation in areas where Dalits and Muslims live together, leading to communal polarisation. Between May 16 — when UP delivered a spectacular tally to the BJP in the Lok Sabha — and July 25, 605 low-key clashes took place which police identified as “communal” in nature. Nearly 200 of these occurred in or around the 12 constituencies, and another 200 in the broader region. MLAs at these 12 assembly seats contested the Lok Sabha elections and have become MPs. Polls to the vacant seats are due within six months. Five of these seats — Saharanpur Nagar, Bijnor, Kairana, Thakurwada and Gautam Buddh Nagar — are in Western UP, where the largest number of 259 communal incidents were recorded. Fifty-three incidents took place in Awadh, where the Lucknow East assembly seat will go to polls. In the Terai, Eastern UP and Bundelkhand regions, each of which is home to two of the 12 seats, 29, 16, and 6 incidents respectively were recorded. Records of more than 400 communal incidents in and around the constituencies show that tensions arose out of broadly six issues. The most common were construction activities involving masjids, madrasas and kabristans (graveyards); and the use of loudspeakers for prayers (120 instances each). Issues of land led to communal tensions in about 70 cases; alleged incidents of cow slaughter in 61 cases; and alleged incidents of elopement and eve-teasing or harassment involving men and women of different communities in 50-odd cases. Minor accidents triggered communal incidents in some 30 cases. In mid-July, in Bijnor’s Keeratpur area, a delegation met the district administration to demand that the construction of a gate on the Bijnor-Haridwar highway be stopped because the top of the gate was beginning to resemble an Islamic “minar”. The administration has now stopped work on the gate, but at a local mandir barely 10 metres away, a practice has begun of weekly recitals of Hanuman Chalisa, at which the gathering is told of the construction. Septuagenarian Jakhir Ahmed, who has kept a small shop next to the gate for three decades, said, “Construction had been on for months. Suddenly, a few weeks ago, protesters showed up, demanding its demolition.” A senior official of the district administration, who didn’t want to be identified, said, “There is a constant pressure from one group to keep issues burning. We get daily complaints about issues, many of which are old. But they are being pursued on a day-to-day basis. And wherever possible, politics is being introduced.” On June 20, in Rampur village of Bijnor’s Nagina region, Muslims objected to a DJ playing music in the community hall of the village. The music was turned off, but the following day, a clash broke out between Hindus and Muslims. Police and local people are still not sure how the trouble began. Five days later, in Noorpur Chiperi village 50 km away in the Sherkot area of the same district, residents objected to music beign played at a birthday party for the nephew of pradhan Mahavir Singh. Here too, the music was turned off, but some local dailies reported that Hindus and Muslims had clashed. The following day, the police arrested a Muslim man for allegedly intruding into a temple and damaging the mandir’s property. When The Indian Express visited Noorpur Chiperi, a Dalit-dominated village, the

pradhan brushed aside the incident. “It was a misunderstanding based on wrong information. We have no problems.” Not far away, in the Gulabbadi area of Moradabad town, where Dalits and Muslims live in almost equal numbers, police have begun to receive anonymous calls about the construction of a minar in a masjid. The masjid in question is deep inside a narrow street, lined by buildings standing cheek-by-jowl, and crisscrossed overhead by a thick jumble of hanging power cables. On July 1, four loudspeakers on the second-floor roof of the mosque were raised to a height of three feet for Ramzan. The calls to the local police and district administration have, however, been complaining of “attempts to raise a new minar, leading to the setting of a precedent”. Only a fortnight earlier, police and protesters had clashed in Kant, 35 km from the town, after the administration brought down a newly set up loudspeaker in a Dalit temple. According to a senior police official, the incidents “reveal how closely communities are keeping a watch on issues that have potential for communal clashes”. The loudspeakers of the Moradabad masjid have been returned to their original height. DIG, Moradabad Zone, Gulab Singh, said, “Even small issues like motorbike accidents involving Hindus and Muslims is leading to mobs gathering. No one seems willing to see reason.” (Indian Express 5/8/14) Dalits, Muslims clash as tension builds in Azamgarh viilage (7) Allahabad: Tension gripped a village in Azamgarh’s Deogaon police station area when a minor issue led to a violent fight between Dalits and Muslims Monday. Around a dozen persons were injured, three of whom had to be referred to Varanasi. The police have registered cross FIRs on the basis of complaints from both sides. No arrest has been made so far. PAC has been deployed in the village. This is at least the third incident in a week in the eastern region of the state in which arguments over minor issues have led to law and order situations threatening to take communal overtones. The police, however, said all these incidents were isolated and localised. According to the Azamgarh police, the incident occurred Monday morning at Katauli Kala village under Deogaon police station area. “The fight began over increasing the width of a chak road going through the fields of the two groups belonging to Dalit and Muslim communities. There is no history of previous fights over the issue. PAC has been deployed. The situation is calm now. The condition of three of the persons, who were referred to Varanasi, is also reported to be stable,” said Superintendent of Police (City) Vinod Kumar. (Indian Express 6/8/14) Day after Rahul’s attack, Modi links UP riots to vo te-bank politics (7) NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the BJP's political opponents have refused to learn appropriate lessons from their drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls and are persisting with 'vote-bank politics', a remark which appeared to be aimed at the Congress. Speaking a day after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi reportedly said that communal riots in UP have been "artificially and deliberately engineered", Modi told members of the BJP national council: "There have been some small incidents in certain parts of the country. Even a single instance of violence is unacceptable to BJP because we believe that peace, unity and brotherhood are essential pre-conditions for growth and, so, there will be no compromise on this. However, those who have suffered massive defeat have not learnt any lesson and are persisting with their vote-bank politics posing great risk to social harmony ." The PM said the BJP workers had the responsibility to remain cautious and foil the threat, in keeping with the "sabka saath, sabka vikas" motto Modi's charge came after the new BJP chief Amit Shah had blamed the spike in communal tension in UP on SP government's "politics of vote bank and appeasement". Coming a day after Rahul's attack that the riots in UP were being organized as part of an agenda, the remarks of Modi and Shah have set the stage for the escalation of tension over the communal situation in UP. Rahul Gandhi who stormed the well of Lok Sabha last week to insist that Speaker Sumitra Mahajan allow a debate on "rising communal violence", was quoted saying that the recent riots had been planned to divide the poor. "Communal conflict is being artificially and deliberately engineered in our country, especially in UP. This is a deliberate strategy to divide the poor of this country and pit brother against brother; to prevent people from uniting to fight the true enemy — inequality, poverty and lack of opportunity," he said.

Although Rahul did not name any party, he and his colleagues have blamed BJP and SP, in that order, for growing incidence of communal tension in UP. Delivering his acceptance speech at the meeting of the national council called to ratify his appointment as BJP chief, Shah blamed the communal violence in UP on SP government's politics of "vote-bank and appeasement". "It is the partisan conduct of the state government which is responsible for the situation. Law and order machinery works on the basis of religion", the newly-appointed BJP chief said. Shah called upon BJP workers to exercise restraint, but exhorted them to launch a statewide awareness campaign on the issue. The strong riposte from Modi and Shah to the charge from Rahul and other political opponents was part of the aggression that was on display. After a short spell when it appeared to be holding its fire in the face of accusations from rivals, Modi, Shah, finance minister Jaitley and home minister Rajnath Singh came out all guns blazing in an effort to shift the battle to the opponents' terrain. "We are being blamed for not doing within 60 days what they themselves could not accomplish in last 60 years," said Modi. He and Jaitley accused Congress of compromising the interests of farmers and jeopardizing the food security scheme by succumbing to the pressure from developed countries to cap the expenditure on subsidies. The new-found confidence was also on vivid display when Shah called upon members of the national council to finish the job of ridding the country of the Congress by defeating it in the coming state elections, and to make BJP's ideology the dominant viewpoint in the country. (Times of India 10/8/14) Communal violence bill: Sonia Gandhi vows to fight BJP's divisive politics New Delhi: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday held Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) meet over the communal violence bill that is going to be debated in Parliament later in the day. During the meet, Sonia Gandhi said: "It is a challenging time. Our numbers have reduced in Lok Sabha but not in Rajya Sabha." She reiterated that there has been an increase in sectarian violence since the new government took over. Hitting out at the NDA, Gandhi said that Narendra Modi-led government hasn't broken new grounds. “It imitated our schemes,” added the Congress chief. Noting that “narrow political considerations cannot take predominance”, Gandhi told the CPC members to forget internal differences, be together, and work hard to get party back to power. She also warned that the moment the BJP behaves in a dictatorial way, "we will stand up and fight". "We'll fight divisive and authoritative politics of BJP and bounce back." Meanwhile, the party has given notice of adjournment motion in Lok Sabha to discuss the issue. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, earlier in the day, hit out at the Centre, saying his party wanted a discussion in Lok Sabha on rising communal violence in the country, but the government was not responding. On Tuesday, Sonia Gandhi attacked the Narendra Modi government, saying the communal violence in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were "created deliberately to divide our society". The government rubbished the charges, and called them "baseless".Her attack on the Modi government came after her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi slammed the Centre on the issue. He held an unprecedented noisy protest and also trooped to the Lok Sabha Speaker's podium on August 06, demanding a debate on rising communal violence in Uttar Pradesh. In the meantime, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee targeted the BJP without naming it, saying some political parties were trying to cause a communal divide in the state and warned that her party will take strong action against those fomenting riots. (Zee News 13/8/14) BJP not taking communal violence seriously: Congres s NEW DELHI: The issue of “communal violence” was taken up for discussion in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after the Congress protested in the morning over the delay in slotting it despite being listed in the business for three days running. Even after the Speaker agreed to discuss it soon after the passage of the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, the issue forced an adjournment as neither the Home Minister nor the Minister of State for Home were in the House when Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was called to initiate the discussion. Their absence was cited by the Congress as testimony to the fact that the government was not taking the issue seriously. BJP MP Yogi Adityanath attacked the

Congress saying tears were shed by the party and those who call themselves secular over the attacks on minorities but not when Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave their native place. Communist Party of India (Marxist) member Mohd. Salim said an attempt was being made to impose majoritarian opinion on the country. Nationalist Congress Party leader Tariq Anwar said given the apprehension that the minorities have about the BJP, it was important that the government set them at rest by dealing with all people with an even hand. AIMIM member Asaduddin Owaisi wanted to know if the government would keep as much of an eye on Hindu fundamentalist organisations as it did on Muslim organisations with extremist ideologies. He also wanted to know whether the government thought all citizens of India were Hindus. “If so, then change the Constitution,” he said, while PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti sought to remind Mr. Adityanath that both Hindus and Muslims were killed in the violence in Kashmir. (The Hindu 14/8/14) UP report claims BJP MP incited Saharanpur riots Lucknow: A war of words erupted between the BJP, Samajwadi Party and others after a report commissioned by the Akhilesh Yadav government into the recent Saharanpur riots on Sunday pointed the finger of blame at a BJP MP, besides noting “administrative lapses” by local officials. The BJP dismissed the report as “politically motivated” and an attempt by UP’s Samajwadi government to hide its “failures”. The five-member committee headed by senior SP leader Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle, submitted its report to the CM on Sunday, in which it questioned the BJP’s role in the clashes. It accused the party’s local MP, Raghav Lakhanpal, of inciting clashes and provoking rioters who torched shops and damaged public property, highly-placed sources said. It also pointed to some laxity by the administration, and recommended stern action against the officials responsible for allowing clashes to take place in order to send out a clear signal to the bureaucracy. “The administration became active only after the violence began and could have taken prompt steps to prevent this,” the report says. “The administration should not have allowed any construction at the disputed site or members of opposite community to assemble. The holy month of Ramzan was on, and adequate preventive steps should have been taken,” the report says. Trashing the allegations, Mr Lakhanpal said the report reflected the “low-level politics” of the SP, that was trying to “appease” one community ahead of Assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh. “It is politically motivated. I have been praised for my efforts to end to the violence and restore peace. The government should have thanked me instead of levelling false allegations,” the MP said in Saharanpur. The five-member committee also included Shivakant Ojha (minister for technical education), Arvind Singh Gope (minister for rural development) and SP leaders Ashu Malik and Haji Ikram Qureshi, who is also its district president in Saharanpur. Dismissing the report, UP BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said while one hand it blamed administrative failure, on the other it pointed to an individual (BJP MP). “When there is an administrative failure, how come the BJP is held responsible? What else do you expect from the SP, which has been blaming the BJP repeatedly to conceal its own failures,” he said. Union home minister Rajnath Singh said he would not comment as it was a “report of a political party” and he had not seen it. BSP supremo Mayawati, meanwhile, targeted both the SP and BJP, alleging the two parties were “hand in glove” in fanning communal violence in the state. She said the “actual facts” were buried and the report had little meaning. “The BJP and SP are hand in glove. The report has not put forth the actual facts. It has little meaning. We do not accept the report,” Ms Mayawati said. Violence had erupted in Saharanpur’s Kutubshahr area on July 26 when members of two communities clashed for several hours over a land dispute. The violence had claimed three lives and left over 35 people injured. (Asian Age 18/8/14) Muzaffarnagar riots: 800 accused still absconding MUZAFFARNAGAR: A total of 800 accused found involved in riot cases here last year are still absconding, Special Investigation Team (SIT) officials said on Thursday. The SIT probing the Muzaffarnagar riots had found the involvement of 1550 accused in different cases. While 750 accused have been arrested so far, 800 are still absconding, Additional SP, SIT, Manoj Jha said on Thursday.

Court has initiated attachment proceedings against 400 absconding accused, he added. The SIT had completed its investigation in 370 out of 510 riot cases. Investigation in the 131 cases is pending as attachment proceedings have not been initiated against the accused, Jha said. The remaining nine cases including that of fake video uploading case involving BJP MLA Sangeet Som and journalist Rajesh Verma murder case, are under investigation, he added. The communal violence, which had broken out in September last year in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining towns, had claimed over 40 lives and rendered above 50,000 people homeless. (Times of India 21/8/14) Activists slam cops for communal polarization (7) Jaipur: Civil right activists are up in arms against what they describe “manipulation of facts and mischievous game plan” for communal polarisation by the Rajasthan police for accusing a group of Muslim industrialists of luring “poor Hindus” to sell off their properties adjoining Muslim areas for the construction of mosque. Led by People’s Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL), which claimed to have obtained a letter written by U.R. Sahu, additional DGP (Intelligence) to Jaipur’s civic and police authorities, alleging that a group of Muslim industrialists have been funding construction of mosques in Hindu dominated slum areas of the Pink City by “luring” poor land owners to sell them off for construction of mosques. Demanding withdrawal of the letter, the PUCL has alleged that the it was deliberately “leaked” around the Independence Day and Janamashtami to create communal hatred and damage the Muslim businessmen named in that letter as well as Jamait-Islami-Hind. Mr Sahu had apparently named Dr Iqbal of the Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind and prominent Muslim industrialists Habib Garnet, Sriaj Takat, Haji Rafat, Naeem Quereshi, Pappu Ouereshi, Gaffar Bhai Tent Wala, Sohrabuddin and Bilal. The money to buy houses and properties of the Hindus in Hindu bastisas per the ADGP’s letter is being facilitated through a fund. Dr Iqbal is caretaker of the fund,” he alleged. “These people meet clandestinely on a monthly or weekly basis at Darbar Hotel in order to plan activities for the above agenda,” Sahu said to have alleged this in the letter as per the PUCL. Fearing that rightwing groups may use this as an excuse to stoke communal violence, the PUCL conducted its own investigation into these allegation and released a “fact-finding” report on to contest the police claim. The PUCL fact finding team observed that “the situation on the ground is very different compared to what has been stated in the letter of ADGP. “Nowhere did it seem a situation of sale due to incentives by the Muslim community to the poor Hindu,” the PUCL report claimed. (Asian Age 22/8/14) Tension Prevails in UP Villages After Communal Clas hes LUCKNOW: Tensions prevailed Monday in the two Uttar Pradesh villages where communal clashes had erupted a day earlier, police said. There was heavy deployment of police personnel in Kanpur's Ghatampur area and Mainpuri's Bhogaon area, an official told IANS. However, no untoward incident has been reported since Sunday night. In the first incident, violence had broken out in Ghatampur's Bhetargaon village Sunday after two communities clashed and over two dozen shops were set on fire. One person was killed and over a dozen, including three policemen, were injured in the clash over a minor theft case. District officials said five policemen were suspended for dereliction of duty. In the second incident, two communities clashed with each other in Alipur Kheda village of Mainpuri after reports that a girl of a community was raped by a boy of another community surfaced. A mob tied the youth to a tree and tried to set him on fire. When the sub-divisional magistrate rushed to the crime scene and tried to save the youth, villagers attacked his vehicle and stoned the police party accompanying him. Police fired blanks to disperse the unruly crowd.Police, however, trashed the rape charge and said two were in a relationship. Alipur Kheda was singed with similar violence July 23 when a girl from one community had eloped with boy of another community. (New Indian Express 25/8/14) Communal incidents continue, but minorities panel s lows down

New Delhi: While Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote the epitaph of the Planning Commission in his Independence Day speech, there has been a perceptible slowdown in the activities of another body — the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) — in the past four months. Incidentally, while all other commission heads were given feelers to step down immediately after the government came to power, NCM was left untouched. The commission has had just two hearings in the four months since the Modi government came to power. In 2013-14 it had 24 hearings, about two per month. Despite the country and Parliament reacting sharply to rising incidents of communal violence lately, the commission’s interventions have been few and far between. It made one follow-up visit to Muzaffarnagar in late June to find out what happened to its recommendations in the aftermath of the riots in September last year. Earlier this month, it met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to talk about media reports on rising communal violence in the state. The matter of NCM recommendations on last year’s riots in Muzaffarnagar was also taken up. A two-member team of the commission had visited Saharanpur in July. The report was given to Akhilesh during the meeting. The commission took suo motu cognisance of one incident — the death of a Pune techie on June 2. Almost three months later, a team is currently visiting Maharashtra and has appealed to the chief minister to ban Hindu Rashtra Sena, the right-wing group allegedly responsible for the incident. “There have been quite a few hearings, I do not remember off hand how many, but they are not the only yardstick of the commission’s activities. Routine activities are happening as are visits. Files are being cleared regularly,” NCM chairman Naseem Ahmed said. Asked how many incidents the commission had taken suo motu cognisance of, secretary Surjit Chaudhary said, “We did it in the Pune case. All tour reports of members are available on our website.” Apart from the visit to Lucknow to meet Akhilesh and the follow-up visit to Muzaffarnagar, the commission has undertaken three other visits in the past four months. One visit was to Araria in Bihar on May 28 to settle a matter between villagers of Bhajanpura and a company called Auro Sundaram. Another was to Faridabad to look into the issue of illegal encroachment of a graveyard in village Rajpur Phulera. One NCM team is currently in Maharashtra. Among the members, the only one who has undertaken a visit since the new government assumed office is Farida Abdullah Khan, who visited Jammu and Kashmir — a state which does not come under the purview of the commission — between May 26 and June 8. The visit had been cleared during the UPA tenure… (Indian Express 28/8/14)

Communal Tension Flares up in Biramitrapur (7) ROURKELA: The bordering Biramitrapur town in Sundargarh district witnessed a communal flare up on Monday after members of a particular community took to the streets protesting smuggling of cows. The protesters brought life in the town to a standstill and demanded strong action against the accused. With the situation remaining grim, three platoons of police forces have been deployed in the area with Sundargarh SP Dayanidhi Gochchhait, Panposh Sub-Collector HS Behera and Biramitrapur Tehsildar G Gopal Krishna trying to pacify the agitators. Sources said at around 8 am, two pick-up vans laden with eight cows and three buffaloes were intercepted on Raiboga road by members of the community. Alleging that the cattle was being taken to a slaughterhouse, the agitators beat up the drivers of the vehicles and handed them over to Biramitrapur police. They demanded action against those behind the smuggling. On the other hand, supporters of the drivers, belonging to another community, laid siege to the police station. Both communities stopped short of a direct confrontation after police swung into action and brought the situation under control. Later in the day, those protesting the smuggling of cattle formed several groups and effected a complete shutdown of the entire Biramitrapur town, located on the border of Jharkhand and infested with Jharkhand’s banned outfit People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI). SP Gochchhait claimed that the situation was under control and precautionary measures have been taken to arrest the situation from flaring up. He said efforts are on to restore normalcy. Sources said Monday’s tension is believed to have stemmed from the simmering anger after a youth of a community eloped with a girl of

another community which is protesting the cattle smuggling. Till the filing of the report, the situation in the town remained grim as hundreds of people gathered on the streets. (New Indian Express 2/9/14) 97 cases of communal violence reported in 2 years ( 7) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Data provided by the ministry of home affairs indicate that the number of cases related to communal violence in the country has increased by 23% in the last two years while deaths due to communal violence too registered a rise of 41% in the same period. Uttar Pradesh topped the states with 247 cases registered last year, a 109% increase in the last two years. The number of deaths in the state increased by 97%, from 39 deaths in 2012 to 77 deaths last year. Maharashtra — with 88 incidents of communal violence — came second, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 84 and Gujarat with 68 incidents. Incidents of communal violence in Kerala dropped to 41 in 2013 from 56 in 2012. While one person was killed and a total of 65 persons injured last year, 71 were injured in 2012. No deaths were reported in 2012. In 2012, 56 incidents of communal violence were reported in the state. A total of 71 persons were injured in all but no deaths were reported. Hardly any case of communal violence was reported in northeastern states like Assam, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Union territories like Daman and Diu. Experts said the data reveals that the onus of controlling such violence lies with the respective state governments and that the increase in numbers indicate failure on their part, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. In Muzaffarnagar district, for example, over 60 persons were killed in communal clashes last year. The Supreme Court had held the state government prima facie responsible for not taking appropriate action to prevent the riots. The court also flayed intelligence agencies under the Central government for not passing sensitive information to state agencies which may have prevented the riots. "The UPA government had proposed the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, 2011, to prevent and control targeted violence, including mass violence. The bill would have given protection to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and religious minorities in the country against organized violence, but it did not see the light of the day," said D B Binu, an RTI activist who filed a query on the issue. The bill also proposed constituting a national authority for communal harmony, justice and reparation. "The authority was supposed to monitor the effectiveness of steps taken by public servants for prevention of communal and targeted violence, record information on offences committed by public servants and monitor investigation and prosecution," he said. (Times of India 5/9/14) Yogi slams SP for riots in west UP (7) NOIDA: Accused by opposition parties of making provocative statements, BJP MP Yogi Adityanath courted more controversy in Noida on Sunday when he equated the rise in communal violence in western UP with the increasing population of a particular community. In the city to support BJP candidate Vimla Batham, Adityanath, the face of the party's campaign for the September 13 bypolls, said the UP government had failed to maintain communal harmony because the ?population of a certain community had risen several times'. "Under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav, UP has so far has witnessed 450 communal riots. Why are there no riots in eastern UP?" he said at a public meeting in Sector 45. "We will not tolerate harassment of Hindus in the state at any cost. Various parts of UP witnessed communal riots but eastern UP remained untouched. If anybody tries to touch Hindus in eastern UP, he will have to face the consequences," he added. Adityanath also accused the state government of ?funding' one community. "The UP government is biased towards one community. Rather than funding one particular community, the government should spend the money on improving the electricity situation in the state." Turning his focus to problems of water and power in Noida, he said, "There is a need to improve hard water in Noida. Nothing has been done to improve electricity supply either. UP puts the blame on the Centre for not supplying enough power but the fact is that UP is not paying for power." (Times of India 8/9/14) Muslim students to counter ‘love jihad’ protests (7 )

Meerut: In an attempt to counter protests against “love jihad” by saffron organisations, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind students’ wing will start a 10-day campaign next month in all 28 districts of western Uttar Pradesh, spreading among youth the “real and pious” meaning of words love and jihad. Activists of Student Islamic Organisation (SIO), which has strong presence on the Aligarh Muslim University campus and among other Muslim students, would visit colleges in the region spreading the message “bridge the gulf, bring the change” and also how certain Hindu outfits are “trying to draw political mileage out of these protests (protests against love jihad), many of which have taken a violent and communal turn in several towns so far”. “Love and Jihad are separate and pious words, but by putting the two together some organisations are trying to serve vested interests and trying to drive a wedge between the two communities. There never had been such a mistrust between the two communities in western Uttar Pradesh towns, but it was deliberately created during and after riots in Muzaffarnagar,” Nazeer-ul-Islam, west wing chief of SIO, told The Indian Express over phone from Aligarh. “We never do any discrimination on religious lines and this can be surmised from our 10-day campaign during which volunteers will not go to colleges only belonging to our community, but also to other colleges where the majority of students belong to the other community,” said Nazeer. The SIO’s move comes after recently BJP’s students’ and youth wings — Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha — along with Vishwa Hindu Parishad formed a “shared forum” which would have units in all districts of western Uttar Pradesh to fight alleged conversions, abductions and mass rapes in the name of love jihad. The forum has opened its first unit Meerut Bachao Manch, under which volunteers took out a peace march and handed over the copy of a memorandum to the local administration appealing for an immediate check on “love jihad”. This forum plans to hold debates and seminars from September 15 in schools and colleges warning students, especially girls, against love jihad. (Indian Express 11/9/14) Police scan CD of Yogi Adityanath's speech (7) NOIDA: Gautam Budh Nagar police have lodged an FIR and opened probe into an inflammatory speech allegedly made by BJP leader Yogi Adityanath at a bypoll campaign rally in Noida on September 7. Police have accessed a CD in which the programme, including the speech, is recorded. The meeting was held at the Sector 45 park. Talking to TOI, SSP Preetinder Singh confirmed an FIR had been lodged against Adityanath. "Our team is examining the CD. We will also question prominent people who had attended the event, the organizers and the videography team of the district administration," Singh said. On whether Adityanath would be arrested, Singh said police were gathering proof. "We're also recording statements. Further action will be decided after a thorough examination of facts and evidence," Singh added. Adityanath was at the centre of controversy after the Election Commission on Tuesday served him a notice for incendiary remarks he allegedly made at the Noida rally. During his speech, Adityanath had reportedly equated the increase in communal violence in western UP with the rise in population of a particular community. "Under Akhilesh Yadav, UP has witnessed 450 communal riots. Why are there no riots in eastern UP?" he had apparently said. (Times of India 13/9/14) Dhule riots commission has till December 31 to fini sh probe (7) Mumbai: The one-member judicial commission probing the communal riots in Dhule district in 2013 has been granted an extension till December 31. Six policemen had died in the firing. Member of state minority commission and head of Jamiat-e-Ulema Maharashtra Legal Aid committee Gulzar Azmi said, “Last month the tenure of the commission got over and Justice Shrikant Malte had decided that it could not continue without the government’s permission and stopped the commission’s work. Though the term of the commission was over, the probe is still far from over so the Jamiat wrote a letter to the Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and state home minister R.R. Patil, requesting them to grant an extension of six months to the commission.” “On Friday, advocate Niyaz Ahmed Lodhi from Malegaon received a phone call from commission’s secretary and former Magistrate Yardeker informing him that the term of commission has been extended till December 31 and it would start examining remaining witnesses from

Tuesday,” Mr Azmi said. According to him, the commission received more then 400 affidavits but statements of only 23 persons have been recorded so far. Public prosecutor Shashir Hire confirmed the news. He also said that all witnesses from police’s side are yet to be examined. According to him though there is a list of 43 witnesses from the police’s side, it would not call all of them to depose before the commission. He also confirmed that none of them have been examined till date. (Asian Age 15/9/14) Uttar Pradesh lesson (7) In Uttar Pradesh, the results of the by-elections for 11 assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat have proved to be dramatically different from those of May 2014. The victory of Tej Pratap Singh, nephew of Mulayam Singh Yadav, in Mainpuri, the family’s Lok Sabha seat, is not surprising. But the BJP has won just three assembly seats while the SP has won eight. The Congress drew a blank. Two of the assembly seats are located in western UP, the scene of communal riots over the past year, and are part of Lok Sabha constituencies that the BJP won in May. The bypoll results have now boosted the morale of the ruling SP, which had performed badly in the national elections. The campaign for the UP by-elections was followed with great interest after the BJP won only four out of 10 seats in the Bihar bypolls in August, losing out to the RJD-JDU-Congress combine. Both UP and Bihar point to a complete turnaround in voter choices in the Hindi heartland. Since May, the political situation and the atmospherics had changed in UP. After the BJP’s stunning victory in the national elections, expectations did not seem to run high among most parties, and the campaigns were low key. Voter turnouts were also much lower than in the national election — 53.18 per cent for the assembly seats and 56.4 per cent for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat. Only the Thakurdwara assembly segment in Moradabad witnessed a high 69 per cent turnout. In some urban constituencies, such as Lucknow East and Noida, it was hardly 34 per cent. The BSP decided not to contest, but this is not surprising. The party has usually kept away from bypolls. It felt that collaborating with the SP, which might have brought together the minorities, backwards and Dalits, was not possible, given the acrimonious relationship between the two parties. Also, Mayawati’s chief target is the Congress, which has been the party of the Scheduled Castes in the past. More importantly, she has decided to move away from the BSP’s “sarvjan” strategy and concentrate on regaining the support of her core constituency, the Jatavs. She has also begun preparing for the next assembly elections, which many believe will be held earlier than scheduled. The Congress, yet to recover from its humiliating Lok Sabha defeat, did not make effective preparations, in terms of either candidates or campaign strategy. Badly divided internally, it is concentrating on rebuilding the party organisation. In these bypolls, then, it was a straight contest between the ruling SP and a BJP grown aggressive and over-confident after its earlier performance. This worked to the SP’s advantage as minority, backward and Dalit votes were not divided. (Indian Express 18/9/14) PM’s statement to please US, shed his communal imag e: UP Minister (7) Ballia: Uttar Pradesh Minister Ramgovind Chaudhary on Saturday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that Indian Muslims will live and die for India, was made “to please” United States and shed his “communal image”. The state minister for primary education urged the Prime Minister to ask Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), VHP, Hindu Jagran Manch and other Hindutva organisations to adopt his views. “Samajwadi Party president has often said that BJP needs to change its mindset on Muslims. It seems that Modi has taken it seriously and only repeated Mulayam Singh Yadav’s opinion that Muslims are patriots,” he told reporters here. Chaudhary alleged that “the Prime Minister’s statement was made out of compulsion to please the US and to shed his communal image. “Despite everything, he cannot wash off the blot on his image.” State minister for stamps and registration, Ambika Chaudhary while welcoming Modi’s remark said that before issuing the statement he ought to have won over the confidence of Muslims for his party so that they would take them seriously. “Modi need to ensure that BJP leaders’ behaviour reflect his views on the subject,” she added. The Prime Minister said in a television interview that Indian Muslims will live and die for India and that they will not dance to the tunes of terror

outfit Al Qaeda. “My understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the Muslims of our country. If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tune, they are delusional. “Indian Muslims will live for India, they will die for India–they will not want anything bad for India,” he told CNN in a rare media interview. (Indian Express 20/9/14) Bareilly on high ‘festive’ alert (7) BAREILLY: With two major festivals, Dussehra and Bakr-Eid, coming soon in close succession, the district administration and law enforcement agencies are on high alert in Bareilly. The city witnessed riots in 2010 and 2012, and the administration is leaving no stone unturned this year, to ensure that the festive season passes peacefully. Bareilly is also considered among the most communally sensitive districts in the state. Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Aligarh and Bulandshahr, all also sensitive districts, are in the region. The state government recognises as many as 27 of its 70 districts as communally sensitive. During the month of Ramadan and Shravan in July this year, the city saw several ugly confrontations between members of Hindu and Muslim communities. At several locations, posse of policemen and personnel of the para military and Rapid Action Force (RAF), along with men of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), were stationed to prevent communal flare-ups. This time, the administration has taken proper preventive measures, and deployed police personnel and para military forces in strength in different locations until October 10. Reports said the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) is on high alert. Superintendent of police (city) Rajeev Malhotra told TOI, "Two major communal riots occurred here in 2010 and 2012 and a large number of instances of face-off between the two communities have occurred in various parts of the district in recent months. The city falls in the communally sensitive category. That is why we are on high alert. The police will be supported by the RAF and PAC battalions during the festive season. The state government will soon also augment the strength of the para military forces here." (Times of India 25/9/14) US court summons PM Modi for ’02 riots (7) New York/New Delhi: Ahead of his arrival in the US, a New York court has issued summons against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged role in 2002 communal riots in Gujarat when he was the state’s chief minister. The summons against Mr Modi were issued on Thursday by the US a federal court for the southern district of New York on a civil lawsuit filed by the New York-based American Justice Centre (AJC), a non-profit human rights organisation, along with two survivors of the post-Godhra violence. The court said that Mr Modi has to respond to the summons within 21 days after it is served on him. The Prime Minister is due to leave for home on September 30 from Washington after he concludes his five-day US visit. The lawsuit against Mr Modi has been filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA). Seeking compensatory and punitive damages, the 28-page complaint charges Mr Modi with committing crimes against humanity, extra-judicial killings, torture and inflicting mental and physical trauma on the victims, mostly from the Muslim community. “The Tort Case against Prime Minister Modi is an unequivocal message to human rights abusers everywhere,” said John Bradley, director at the AJC. “Time and place and the trappings of power will not be an impediment to justice,” he said. The Alien Tort Claims Act, also known as Alien Tort Statute (ATS), is a US federal law first adopted in 1789 that gives the federal courts jurisdiction to hear lawsuits filed by US residents for acts committed in violation of international law outside the US. Reacting to the lawsuit, Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government will examine the US court summons. “We will examine it. I don’t know it. I am only hearing it from you. We will examine it,” Mr Prasad told reporters. During his five-day visit, Mr Modi is due to address the annual UN General Assembly and the Indian-American community at Madison Square Garden in New York before travelling to Washington to meet President Barack Obama on September 29 and 30. Groups known for their anti-India activities have planned a series of demonstrations against Mr Modi in both New York and Washington. (Asian Age 27/9/14)

Communal clashes in Vadodara after stabbing (7) VADODARA: Communal clashes erupted at Kotiyarknagar near Panigate on Sunday, forcing the police to open fire in air. Teargas shells were lobbed to disperse the mobs that gathered after a man was stabbed on Waghodia Road on Sunday afternoon. Another person was stabbed in Champaner Gate even as the city police struggled to maintain peace in the communally sensitive areas that have been witnessing rioting since Thursday. Two more SRPF companies were deployed to contain the situation, police said. Communal violence had erupted in Yakutpura, Panjrapole, Fatehpura and Kumbharvada on Thursday after some derogatory posts about a religion were put on social networking site Facebook. The police department's step of suspending mobile internet services and bulk text messages didn't help much as riots kept spreading from one area to other on Saturday night. City police commissioner, E Radhakrishna had cited rumour-mongering as the reason behind suspending mobile internet services. With police struggling to quell riots, Director General of Police P C Thakur had to rush to the city and hold a meeting with senior police officials. Thakur was forced to hold a meeting at 2am near Mandvi Gate. While situation was normal on Sunday morning, trouble began in Kotiyarknagar in noon when Shailesh Rajput, a tea-vendor was stabbed at Kala Darshan crossroads. Rajput was stabbed in the back by some unidentified persons who came on a motorbike. He was rushed to SSG Hospital and admitted to the ICU. Soon after, mobs from two communities gathered at Kotiyarknagar and started pelting stones. Policemen fired one round in air and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the mob. Tension prevailed in Wadi, Fatehpura, Yakutpura and Gendigate. The person stabbed near Champaner Gate was identified as Mangal Singh. He was reported to be out of danger. State finance minister Nitin Patel also rushed to the city and attended a peace committee meeting organized by the police department. "We have identified persons involved in rioting and the process to arrest the accused is on. We have formed several teams to investigate the cases and nab the accused," Radhakrishnan told TOI. (Times of India 29/9/14)

Vadodara: A strained show of normalcy… (7) Vadodara, which was in the spotlight after Narendra Modi picked it to fight the parliamentary elections and won with a record breaking margin to become prime minister, was scarred during its most vibrant moment — the Navratri festival — when riots broke out on September 25 reportedly sparked by an objectionable image circulated through WhatsApp. For the five-month-old Anandiben Patel government, this was the first such communal clash in the backdrop of the VHP’s campaign against “love jihad” and brazen call to ban Muslims from garba venues, with support from some BJP quarters. Vadodara had last seen a major riot in 2006 when six people were killed after clashes over razing of a dargah, and has been communally vulnerable. Though Commissioner of Police E Radhakrishnaiah kept reiterating that law and order was “under control”, at least five senior officers who had formerly done stints in Vadodara were parachuted to aid him. Radhakrishnaiah banned mobile data services for three days, disabling all communication based on mobile Internet services, on the ground that rumours floating on these channels were provoking riots. But there was no curfew imposed on ground and efforts were being made to ensure shops remained open in a show of normalcy. No message of peace was run on the active social media handles of government functionaries either. Between September 25 and September 29, Chief Minister Patel’s twitter handle had posts related to Garib Kalyan Mela and Pre-Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit among others, but nothing on Vadodara. State Finance Minister Saurabh Patel, who is an MLA from a Vadodara constituency, visited a garba venue close to where communal clashes were on, for the third day running. However, he gave no statement on the violence. The police had, by then rounded up some 100 people — Hindus and Muslims — under prohibitory orders. Health Minister Nitin Patel, who is the guardian minister for Vadodara, held a peace meeting only on September 28, the fourth day, as sporadic incidents of violence kept the walled city areas on edge. When contacted, Nitin Patel said, “The government response was not late. Action was taken step wise as per requirement.” Asked why the CM, who holds the home portfolio and Junior Home Minister Rajnikant Patel did not visit the city during the

clashes, Patel, who is also government spokesperson, said, “Things were being monitored from Gandhinagar. And, I did visit.” What began as arson and plundering on the first day of Navratri, turned violent with incidents of communal stabbings as violence affected the Fatehpura, Yakutpura, Mandvi, Panjrigar Mohalla, Hathikhana, Bhandwada, Adaniapul and Taiwada areas of Vadodara… (Indian Express 4/10/14) Ahmedabad Police file FIRs against rioters (7) AHMEDABAD: Police on Monday filed two first information reports following Sunday's attacks by rioting mobs on the policemen in the communally sensitive Shahpur area here. The first complaint filed by sub-inspector HM Rana of Shahpur police station says the mob of about a thousand people attacked the policemen with stones, swords and sticks, leaving three policemen including deputy commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Shukla and assistant commissioner of police MD Chaudhary injured. The mob tried to kill the policemen who were patrolling in the area to prevent illegal cow slaughtering on Sunday evening, the complaint says, adding that attackers came from various lanes leading to Rangila chowky, Rajaji pol, Burkhaposh pol, Shahpur Hauj and Shahpur Adda. Police fired at least 30 teargas shells and later fired five rounds in the air, the FIR says. Rana claims in the FIR that he has identified 12 persons who led the mob. The FIR has been registered under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 143 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting with weapons) and 332 (attacking public servants) of the Indian Penal Code. The second FIR registered by police sub-inspector AB Gohil of Navrangpura police station says that the rioters snatched away his loaded service revolver. Gohil states that when two constables and he were heading towards Rangila Chowky on their bikes at around 7.30pm, a mob of around 1,500 persons stopped them near Mirzapur meat market and attacked them with sticks. (Times of Indi 6/10/14) Curfew in Bihar town after communal violence (7) Patna: Curfew was imposed on Tuesday for 48 hours in the border town of Kishanganj in Bihar following communal violence set off by rumours that the carcass of an animal was found near a temple. Residents burnt tyres and blocked the road and rail traffic and forced the closure of shops and government offices. Train delayedThe Capital Express from Danapur to Kamakhya was delayed at Kishanganj for over three hours due to the agitation. Animesh Kumar Parashar, District Magistrate of Kishanganj, said the situation was brought under control. Additional forces had been deployed in the town, said Deepak Barnwal, Superintendent of Police, Kishanganj. Elders across communities met the district magistrate and urged him to take steps to restore normality in the town. The government has asked Principal Secretary (Home) Amir Subhani to take stock of the situation in Kishanganj. (The Hindu 7/10/14) Communal violence in Indiranagar (7) LUCKNOW: Members of two communities clashed in Amrahi area in Indiranagar on Tuesday evening over camel sacrifice for Eid ul Zuha. Six persons sustained injuries due to stone pelting. Gunshots were also fired in the air. Both groups were led by members of political parties. PAC personnel and large contingent of police force had been deployed in the locality following the clash. Till late night, cops were trying to maintain vigil in the area and had not lodged FIRs. On Monday local administrative and police officials had tried to broker peace between Shailu Awasthi (27) and Haji Ghayas (45) who had an argument over animal sacrifice. As per local residents Awasthi is BJP worker while Ghayas is associated with the ruling party. Ghayas has been carrying out animal sacrifice for Eid ul Zuha for the past several years but this time Awasthi and some local residents objected to the practice. As per Faheem, an eyewitness of the incident and a local resident, Awasthi had issues over sacrifice. "Awasthi was unhappy as he did not want remains of the animal and blood splattered near his house in the village," said Faheem. Ghayas' plan to sacrifice camel was sounded out to forest department officials and the animal was being taken away. Haji agreed not to sacrifice the animal and the team of officials left the area. Late evening, however, rumour mongering over sacrifice of camel triggered tension again and groups came

face to face around 7.30pm. Stones were pelted at each other and at least six persons sustained injuries. Gunshots were also fired in the air, said local residents. By 8pm, situation was brought under control. Additional superintendent of trans-Gomti area Dinesh Yadav said strong action will be initiated against offenders. "We will press harsh sections and lodge FIRs against miscreants. Situation was tense for around 15 minutes," he said. Yadav denied reports of gunshots being fired in the air. (Times of India 8/10/14) Public meetings may revive tensions in western U.P. (7) New Delhi: An RSS-backed panchayat that has been called in Muzaffarnagar on October 10, and a Rashtriya Lok Dal-inspired rally scheduled for October 12 in neighbouring Meerut, with seemingly different agendas, could see a fresh spurt of divisive politics in western Uttar Pradesh, an area that was rocked by communal violence last year and led to 40,000 Muslims fleeing their homes to take shelter in refugee camps. Friday’s Muzaffarnagar panchayat — that has awakened memories of last year’s mahapanchayat where inflammatory speeches by local Jat leaders led to communal violence — its convenor Virendra Singh told The Hindu telephonically, has been called to demand that the recent murder of three labourers in the district be declared as a “communal incident” so that their families can get the compensation that those who are victims of communal violence get — and that includes a government job. The three murdered men belong to the Jatav, Valmiki (both Dalit) and Kashyap communities, so the fervour that was seen among the dominant Jat community may not be on display on Friday, Mr Singh – a Jaat himself – said. But by insisting that it be seen as a communal incident there appears to be an effort to revive the tension seen last year that so polarised Hindus and Muslims in the Lok Sabha elections that the BJP swept the polls in the region. Simultaneously, RLD chief Ajit Singh has called a rally on October 12 under the banner of “Chaudhary Charan Singh Smarak Banao Sangharsh Samiti” ostensibly to demand that 12 Tughlak Road be declared a memorial for his father and the former Prime Minister Charan Singh but, in fact, it will mark the start of his efforts to revive his party. The RLD that traditionally drew its strength from the Jat-Muslim combine found its base totally eroded after last year’s communal violence left the two communities at war with each other. The rally is being described as a “political family get-together” as invitations have been sent to the Samajwadi Party, the Janata Dal-United, the National Conference, the Biju Janata Dal, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Janata Dal-Secular — many of whose leaders are expected to show up. For Mr. Ajit Singh, this will be his first effort after the Lok Sabha polls to demonstrate that he still has political clout in the region and sources say, he is expecting over a lakh and a half to show up as Jat leaders and khap heads from Haryana and western UP have all been sent invitations. Those who are likely to attend are former PM H.D. Dewe Gowda, former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, RJD president Lalu Prasad and SP leader Shivpal Yadav. Congress Chief Ministers Harish Rawat and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, NC chief Farooq Abdullah, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao too, have been invited. With the RLD rally an attempt to bring anti-BJP forces on one platform in Meerut, and the Muzaffarnagar panchayat an effort by pro-BJP forces to revive the communal tension of last year, western UP will continue to be a contested site. (The Hindu 10/10/14) Communal riots of Kokrajhar in 2012 exposed Assam t o jihadists (7) Guwahati: The communal riots of 2012 in Kokrajhar was the turning point for Assam as it brought the state on the radar of pan-Islamic jihadi elements. Informing that the arrest of six modules of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen of Bangladesh has also corroborated it, authoritative security sources told this newspaper that documentary evidences in possession of the security agencies have revealed that Assam started figuring in most of discourses of pan-Islamic jihadi forces after communal riots of 2012. Saying that in most of the discourses of Islamic terror networks, the plight of Muslims in Assam was highlighted, security sources informed that there have been occasions when plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar was also

referred with Assam in discourses at various international forums of radical jihadis. Claiming that some of the NGOs and religious and political leaders who came for relief operations were also instrumental in highlighting it, security sources said that some protest demonstrations against the Assam riots outside the state also helped in publicising the demography of the state. Security sources clarified that they are yet to find any evidence that indicates the interest of the Al Qaeda in Assam, though they admitted that the Indian subcontinent is on the radar of the Qaeda and Indian security agencies had prior inputs in this regard. Admitting that the ongoing radicalisation of Rohingya youths facing onslaught in Myanmar was also posing a serious threat to the safety and security of Assam, security sources said that agencies have found evidences of Rohingyas exploring possibility of shelters in the frontier states of the Northeast. Pointing out that the Rohingyas of Myanmar have already flooded J&K and New Delhi, sources said that Assam may turn out to be a new shelter for them, with several NGOs and jihadi elements extending their moral support to the ongoing training of Rohingyas in the bordering areas of Bangladesh. They said that six Muslim youths arrested in Assam were the part of the JMB plan to launch a retaliatory attack on Dhaka. (Deccan Chrinicle 13/10/14) Minister meets kin of riot victims in Hallikeri (7) HUBLI : Food and Civil Supplies and district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday met relatives of the three persons killed in the recent communal violence in Hallikeri village, Navalgund taluk, Dharwad district. Family members of the Koreppa Javur, Hucchappa Durgad and Ismail Nadaf said they live in a state of fear and complained that police are yet to provide protection to their houses. Speaking to reporters, Rao said probe into the case will be carried out in an impartial manner. "It was unfortunate that the village witnessed communal clashes. The government has been trying to maintain peace in the village." The minister said that the youths who fled the village fearing police action will be convinced to come back and live in harmony. A few protests were held during the public grievance meeting attended by Rao here on Saturday. BJP workers staged protested in front of the minister, demanding appointment of a new commissioner of Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation. The protesters said routine work is being affected due to the absence of HDMC commissioner. Deputy mayor Manjula Akkur, BJP district president Lingaraj Patil, former mayor Pandurang Patil and others were present during the protest. Replying to the protesters, Rao said that the government will appoint the commissioner within 10 days. The BJP also demanded prevention of irregularities at the food and civil supply department as thousands of beneficiaries are denied BPL card. Rao said he will soon take action against the culprits. "Pending ration cards will be issued within a month," he said. In another protest, members of the Hubballi Viman Nildana Santrastar Okkuta demanded alternative land under Ashraya scheme to those who lost their land due to expansion of the airport. Members of the Karnataka State Retired Government Employees and Senior Citizen Welfare Association demanded a space for their office at the HDMC Complex and a site for their association. They also urged a separate outpatient unit for senior citizens at government hospitals. (Times of India 18/10/14) HC seeks response of Centre, J&K in Chattisinghpora Sikhs massacre (7) Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir high court on Monday sought response of the Centre and the state government on a petition seeking a probe into the killing of 35 Sikhs in Chattisinghpora area in March 2000.A division bench of the high court comprising justices Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and MH Attar issued notices to respondents including the Centre and the state government to reply to the petition within two weeks. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed by one Sardar Avtar Singh Sodhi, a resident of Mehjoor Nagar area here. The Lashkar-e-Toiba militants massacred 35 Sikhs at Chttisinghpora village of Anantnag district on March 20, 2000 -- a day before then US President Bill Clinton was to arrive on his maiden visit to India. In 2010, an LeT associate David Headley, who was arrested in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks, reportedly confessed to the National Investigation Agency that the outfit carried out the Chattisinghpora massacre. Headley is said to have identified an LeT militant named Muzzamil as part

of the group which carried out the killings apparently to create communal tension just before Clinton's visit. The other major relief sought by the petitioner is reservation for Sikhs of J&K in all state departments and all other state institutions including the legislature, judiciary and executive. The petitioner has also pleaded for directions to the respondents for welfare of the Sikh community living in the state which included appointment of a board for welfare of the community, appointment of a commission to investigate the problems of Sikhs and to suggest appropriate measures for their improvement in social and economic sectors. He has also sought setting up of the Punjabi language department in the University of Kashmir and financial assistance to deserving students from the community for higher studies abroad. The petitioner has also sought directions for providing similar benefits to Sikhs to which other minorities are entitled to in rest of India under the National Commission for Minorities. (Hindustan Times 20/10/14) Love affair sparks riots in Vadodra, 9 injured (7) VADODARA: An alleged love affair between a girl and a boy belonging to different communities sparked communal clashes at Dhaniyavi village in Varnama on Monday morning. Nine persons including four policemen were injured in the rioting that broke out at about 11am. Police fired three rounds in the air to disperse the rioting mob. Over 24 persons have been detained and many more are likely to be rounded up in coming days. Over 32 weapons including swords and a licensed gun were recovered from the spot. According to the police, the two communities were at loggerheads over last few days after the allegations of an affair between a boy and a girl surfaced. "The communities had settled their differences earlier and father of the girl had even refused to register a complaint. However, on Monday morning they fought again," said district superintendent of police (rural), Sandip Singh. Locals claimed that a similar attack happened on Sunday night in the village. "To ensure peace, we tried to strike a compromise. But we were attacked without any provocation in the presence of the police. Even women were present when the attack happened," said an injured person. Another local said that the boy was accused of sending text messages to the girl and someone from the girl's family informed her father. The injured persons were admitted to Makarpura hospital. Four cops including police sub-inspector, P V Solanki suffered head injuries. Security has been beefed up in the village to avoid any escalation. An injured person claimed that one of the reasons behind the clash was political rivalry between the two communities and that the affair was just a pretext to attack them. (Times of India 21/10/14) Delhi's Trilokpuri colony tense after communal clas hes, one in critical condition (7) New Delhi: Delhi's Trilokpuri colony tense Ads by Google Used Cars at Low Price Get best deal in 2nd hand cars. Shop for the right used car today! cartrade.com/Used-Cars Free Trading Seminar Learn and Earn in Financial Markets Register for Seminar in Gurgaon www.mtrading.in/free-seminars New Delhi, Oct 26: Delhi's Trilokpuri area remained tense on Sunday, Oct 26, though no violence was reported, police said, a day after five people were shot at during a communal clash, leaving one in critical condition. But police denied the area was curfew-bound. "The situation is tense but under control. No fresh violence or clashes have been reported," Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajay Kumar told IANS. Police had detained around 70 people till Saturday night after two groups of Hindus and Muslims pelted stones at each other Friday. After a brief lull, clashes erupted again and five people were shot at Saturday evening. Three of the wounded were identified as 16-year-old Ajit, who has a back injury, 15-year-old Arjun, who is in critical condition with a head wound, and Praveen, whose age is not known. Following Thursday's clash over Diwali celebrations, the authorities imposed prohibitory orders banning illegal gatherings. Trilokpuri residents said there was "a curfew like situation". Delhi Police denied this. "There is no curfew like situation, but section 144 of CrPC (prohibiting unlawful assembly of people) is imposed in the area," spokesman Rajan Bhagat told IANS. The whole of Trilokpuri, divided into 36 blocks, were being manned by more than 1,000 security personnel - from Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force and Central Reserve Police Force. Over 30 police vans, water cannons and riot control vehicles have also been deployed.

Some of the roads where street clashes took places were strewn with stones and broken bottles Sunday. Though police said the five were injured in mob firing, their families blamed the police. "Arjun was shot by police when he was returning from a nearby block. He had gone for tuition and was returning around 1 p.m. Saturday," his mother Malar told IANS. Ajit's mother Anjali also claimed that her son was shot by police. Police said 14 people, including 13 police personnel, were injured in the stone-pelting. They were admitted to hospitals. Trilokpuri residents expressed anger over the police action, and accused officials of not apprehending the real culprits. "Most of the people staying in block 27 were nabbed from their houses. They were badly beaten up and dragged out of their houses. All of them are innocent," Trilokpuri resident Md. Fahim told IANS. (One India 26/10/14) Six held as VHP, Christians trade charges over Bast ar clash (7) Raipur: The VHP and Christians have accused each other for the violence in Madhota village of Bastar district when nearly two dozen people were injured in a clash between the communities Saturday night. Four members of right-wing groups and two Christians have been arrested. The present controversy is rooted in an attempt by the right-wing groups to take these converted tribals to the Hindu fold. A fortnight ago, Bastar BJP MP Dinesh Kashyap had visited the area and initiated “ghar vapasi” of neo-Christians. Since then, the area has been simmering and the Bastar administration had called a meeting of both communities on Saturday when the clash took place. “We were sitting outside our church when Dinesh Kashyap came with several persons and attacked us,” said Deva Madia, a converted Christian who is recovering at a hospital. Kashyap admitted he led the event but denied he was present on the spot Saturday. “I am in Raipur. I am still to get details about the incident,” he told The Indian Express. However, locals claimed his presence at the village. (Indian Express 28/10/14) Drone helps police scan Trilokpuri locality (7) NEW DELHI: Even as curfew remained in force in Trilokpuri on Day 5, the police carried out massive door-to-door search operations and recovered a huge amount of weapons and bottles of acid. For the first time, Delhi Police used a drone during the riot investigations. The search operation started on Monday evening after procuring warrants. Cops formed several teams comprising a senior officer, women personnel and constables, who were supported by Rapid Action Force sleuths. By Tuesday evening, the cops had searched 609 houses in eight blocks. Most recoveries were made from blocks 15, 20, 26, 27 and 28. Sources said intelligence officials were also present in plainclothes. A police officer said around 70 bags containing around 1,000 bricks and stones were seized from the rooms and terraces of the houses. Besides, cops seized five bags of acid bottles, around a dozen swords and meat cleavers and two dozen knives. Five people were arrested. Cops said the drive will continue till all suspects are arrested. The drone was a huge help as it could hover around multiple terraces and scan them within minutes. Delhi Police have procured two more drones with night vision after its use helped nab suspects and scan the area. The curfew was lifted between 2pm and 5pm during which essential supplies were distributed to people. Cops will also lift the curfew from 11am onwards for Chhath Puja. However, this will only be allowed if nothing sensitive is observed, an officer said. Police are sanitizing the entire area so that tensions don't escalate again. Cops have also asked for the mobile and CCTV footages and appealed people to maintain peace through loudspeakers. Special commissioner (law & order) Deepak Mishra said he was monitoring the situation closely and appealed to people to not indulge in rumour mongering. "We have been getting hoax calls and a team is probing them. Those found to be creating panic and mischief will not be spared," Mishra said. Joint commissioner of police Sanjay Baniwal said they hope to restore normalcy in the area in the next few days. (Times of India 29/10/14)

Over 300 died in 9 years in communal incidents in U P: RTI (7)

New Delhi, Nov 2: Over 300 people lost their lives and 3,000 were injured in incidents of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh in last nine years, according to a RTI reply. According to information received through the RTI for the period of 2005-2014, 1,271 communal incidents have taken place in Uttar Pradesh in the last nine years, out of which 56 were recorded in 2014 in which 10 persons died and 144 were injured. In the 1,271 incidents, 336 people lost their lives and 3,107 were injured. The highest number of communal violence incidents was recorded in 2013 at 247 in which 77 people died and 360 were injured, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in the reply. It said that public law and order and police administration are state subjects and information about loss of property, number of displaced or arrested persons, is not kept with the Centre. Year 2005 saw 121 such incidents in the state in which 47 people died while 42 lost their lives in 113 incidents of communal violence in 2006. 138 such incidents were recorded in 2007 in which 37 people died and 397 were injured. Similarly, 2008 saw 114 incidents of communal violence, the RTI reply said, adding, 18 people died and 408 were injured. The number of incidents rose to 159 in 2009. 32 people lost their lives and 525 were injured. The years 2010, 2011, and 2012 121, 121, 84, and 118 such incidents respectively. 22 people lost their lives in 2010, where as 12 and 39 people died in 2011 and 2012 respectively. (Oneindia.in 2/11/14) 1984 riots: Accused in only 7 of 255 cases convicte d (7) New Delhi: An RTI query has revealed that accused in only seven cases out of the 255 lodged in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots have been convicted by September this year. Twenty-seven accused in the seven cases were convicted while 591 accused in as many as 121 cases were acquitted, according to the RTI reply. Delhi-based RTI activist Gopal Prasad had filed a query with the anti-riots cell of the Delhi police, which was constituted in 1990, asking for details about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. A total of 255 cases pertaining to 326 deceased victims had been registered, in which 622 accused had been arrested. As per the anti-riots cell, four of the accused are under trial. In the seven cases, the trial of one is pending while investigation is pending in another. The case in which investigation is pending has been registered at the Nangloi police station and it has been transferred to the CBI on the direction of Union home ministry. The government had on October 30 decided to give Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of 3,325 victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots triggered after assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 2006, the UPA government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced a package of Rs 717 crores, which included monetary compensation of Rs 3.5 lakhs to each killed in the riots besides financial assistance to injured and those who had lost their property. Out of this, only Rs 517 crore had been spent and the remaining Rs 200 crore could not be distributed because of dispute over claimants. (Asian Age 3/11/14) 14 injured in communal clashes in 2 Madhya Pradesh districts (7) INDORE: At least 14 people were injured, five of them critically, in communal clashes in Madhya Pradesh's Barwani and Khargone districts on Monday night, just before Muharram, prompting the administration to enforce prohibitory orders in the trouble-torn parts. In Nimrani village in Khargone district, trouble started when some people hurled crackers at a religious procession. Those part of the procession set ablaze three shops. The first group then damaged some shops owned by those belonging to the second group. The clash developed into a free-for-all, with the groups attacking each other with swords. Seven people were injured. Five of them, who were seriously injured, were referred for treatment to Indore. Their condition remained critical on Tuesday. One of them, Shailendra Rajput, lost his right thumb in the sword attack. "The situation was brought under control by Monday late night and additional police force from neighbouring districts has been deployed in Nimrani," Khargone superintendent of police Amit Kumar Singh told TOI on Tuesday. "Twelve people have been arrested for violence and 20 others have been booked in criminal cases." In Barwani, violence started after a group of people allegedly threw crackers at a religious procession near a place of worship in the sensitive Pala Bazaar area of the town around 10pm. Trouble makers from both groups then pelted stones at each other. Soon, at least two

shops were set ablaze and six motorcycles were damaged. The police cane-charged the rioters and lobbed tear-gas shells to bring the situation under control. Seven people were injured, including Barwani superintendent of police Tilak Singh, assistant sub-inspector S P Mehta, a trainee woman sub-inspector and a constable. Tilak Singh received minor injuries in the stone-pelting. "At least 15 people have been booked for rioting and arson in three criminal cases and efforts are being made to arrest them," Tilak Singh said on Tuesday. "Prohibitory orders were clamped in Pala Bazaar on Monday night." On Tuesday, saffron outfits forced commercial establishments across Barwani town to shut down in protest against the violence, while the police and local administration carried out a peace march. (Times of India 5/11/14) Over 100 Muslim residents from Trilokpuri may be re located to Seelampur (7) NEW DELHI: Communal tensions in Trilokpuri that erupted into riots two weeks ago have also been simmering at a Delhi Metro construction site. And at the centre of the controversy is a piece of land over which the metro plans to relocate over 100 families living in Muslim-dominated Block 15. The move is being opposed by Hindu residents of Blocks 16, 17 and 18, which is located opposite the relocation site. They claim they are against construction of a new block as it is the only ‘green belt’ in the neighbourhood. The under-construction Mukundpur-Shiv Vihar corridor of Delhi Metro Phase-III cuts across Block 15 and the construction of viaducts will displace 108 families. Through an RTI query with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, residents of Block 15 found that they will be rehabilitated in the plot that falls in front of Blocks 16, 17 and 18 in Trilokpuri. According to residents awaiting relocation, East Delhi BJP MP Maheish Girri and former MLA Sunil Vaid held consultations in mid-October and assured residents of the Hindu-dominated blocks that their Muslim neighbours will not be relocated to the “green belt”. In response to a query on the exact location of their rehabilitation, the DMRC told RTI applicant S. Khurram that “the land has been allotted by the Delhi Urban Shelter Development Board (DUSIB)”. This was the position before the BJP MP intervened in the matter. Afzal Hussain (63), whose family will be among the displaced, said “former BJP MLA Sunil Vaid had interacted with residents of Blocks 16, 17 and 18 and there was a propaganda to not allow Muslims to be relocated to the allotted land.” Mr. Hussain, who has lived in the area for four decades, said: “At the meeting that took place last month, East Delhi MP Maheish Girri was also present and assured the gathering that these houses will not be built here”. A member of the Delhi Police-appointed Aman Committee, C. Adhikesavan, confirmed this. (The Hindu 8/11/14) Delhi underground: Communal tension in Babarpur (7) New Delhi: The Babarpur Assembly segment in Northeast Delhi is simmering with communal tension after the carcass of a cow was allegedly found in the area, police said. While police officially denied any violence in the area, sources confirmed that senior officers were present at the spot. Police sources said the incident took place a little after 10 pm on Sunday in Babarpur’s Noor-e-Ilahi area, a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood. Residents said that near the spot, a wedding was taking place in a community centre. “When it (the cow) was discovered, a Hindu wedding was taking place in the area. The people at the wedding got agitated and the situation has since been tense. People in the area are scared and are indoors,” Ovais Sultan Khan, a social worker, said. A senior police officer, on the condition of anonymity, said that after the carcass was found, “local shopkeepers reacted very angrily and the situation was brought under control only after deployment of police force was increased”. AAP leader Gopal Rai tweeted, alleging that certain “anti-social elements” were attempting to spread communal tension in the area. Joint Commissioner of Police (eastern range) Sanjay Beniwal, while stressing that there had been no instance of communal violence, said, “The situation is now normal. Persons who were out on the streets have gone back to their houses. The roads are clear.” (Inian Express 10/11/14) Why is Delhi communally restive? (7)

New Delhi: Cramped living, fierce competition, limited resources and an ever-increasing population have given Delhi its famous short fuse. But as a city, it was never communally overwrought. But the past one month has changed that. With elections set to be declared any given day, the city has seen a full-blown riot and four other instances of religion being at the centre of conflict. How this has become the city’s reality is something its residents have failed to understand. Trilokpuri, where the riots broke out on Diwali, is a place inured to violence. People from all parts of the country and religions live here. And clashes break out every other week. The 1984 anti-Sikh riots had ravaged the settlement but since then, there was never a full-blown riot. In the recent years, fights have been contained with the help of local leaders and the police. But how did a riot as severe as the one on Diwali that shut the area for five continuous days could break out in an area like this has left residents with several burning questions. And there are no clear answers. Bawana, Babarpur and Okhla, too are areas where periodic violence is common. Communal tension, however, is contained and usually resolved at the local level. Is it then a mere coincidence that polarisation has knocked on Delhi’s doors just before elections are to be announced? According to Harsh Mander, a noted social activist who has studied communal clashes extensively, riots and communal tensions follow a set template. “If left to themselves, people from different areas and communities tend to live together largely peacefully. It is political interference that causes stress and this is done in three stages,” he said. He went on specify the three stages. “The first,” he said, “is when hatred for another community is generated around a sensitive issue. These issues are usually related to places of worship, love affairs, or instances like cow slaughter. Further deterioration of the situation is achieved by organising people in a collective on the basis of this hatred. Weapons, in many cases bricks and stones, are distributed. The third important thing is allowing it to fester for some time. Strict action is not taken at the first instance.” “A riot is a carefully manufactured product. With elections round the corner, this template is being followed. But we won’t see violence that will result in loss of life as that leads to sympathy. The violence should be just enough to let people forget other problems,” he added. The role of local politicians in flaring tensions has been highlighted by the police in their report to the ministry of home affairs. Members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been instrumental in igniting communal tensions. “If it was one isolated incident, one would not have read into the motivations. But there are a number of other cases as well and there is a pattern to it. You are forced to look at the timing and context in which these things are happening. It doesn’t take too much to understand who is behind these things and who stands to gain from this polarisation,” said Yogendra Yadav, a senior leader of AAP. “It happened in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana before the election and now it is happening here. The aim is to polarise voters. I don’t have any concrete proof, which I can hand over to the police,” he added. The BJP too agrees that the clashes have been engineered to cause polarisation and blamed AAP for it. “The incident at Trilokpuri was not communal to start with. It was given a communal colour. The other incidents are also part of a larger conspiracy by people who want to create fear psychosis in the minority community. AAP is provoking such incidents to keep its voter base intact,” said Ashish Sood, general secretary, Delhi BJP. The police points out how a society which is densely populated by poor, multi-lingual, multi-regional and multi-religious people falls easy prey to communal tension. According to senior police officials, each group has its own priorities, sensibilities and response to social situations. Lack of resources, especially space, further accentuate the fight for limited resources for their community. (Hindustan Times 12/11/14) Tension in Palwal: Union home ministry asks for a r eport.. (7) NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry has sought a report from the new BJP government in Haryana on the communal tension that erupted in Palwal district on Tuesday night. The ministry has noted the first such incident under the new government with concern and asked Chief Minister Jagdish Khattar-led government to furnish a detailed report, officials said. Indefinite curfew has been clamped in Hathin town of Palwal district since midnight after protestors set ablaze the official vehicle of the district commissioner as well as a motorcycle showroom and a medical store. As per a preliminary intelligence report available

with the home ministry, trouble started on November 11 evening when a group of Muslims offered namaz in a mosque, which is said to be a disputed structure, and the Hindu community raised objections. "Activists of Ram Sena Sangathan set ablaze some kiosks, cow dung and wooden heaps belonging to the Muslims," the report says. Later in the night, "unidentified miscreants" set ablaze two vehicles including those belonging to the deputy commissioner of Palwal along with two stores, according to the report. "As a precautionary measure, the district administration had imposed an indefinite curfew in the town since midnight," it adds. (Economic Times 13/11/14) Dalit-Muslim clashes rattle western Uttar Pradesh a gain (7) Lucknow: A village in Shamli district after the communal riotThree incidents of communal violence were reported from the volatile western part of Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hours. On Tuesday night, Dalits and Muslims clashed at Sonata village in Shamli district over sharing water from a hand-pump. At least six houses of both the communities were set on fire by the rioters. Half-a-dozen people also sustained injuries. The Dalits alleged that they were prevented from using the hand-pump in the village. "We were not being allowed to use the hand-pump for the last one year. We used to avail the service of another hand-pump. But now we have no option because it is not working," villager Ram Babu told the police. A large police force has been deployed to prevent further violence in the village. In another incident on Tuesday evening, a Muslim youth died of bullet injury sustained in a communal clash at Datiyana village in Muzaffarnagar district. Eyewitnesses told the police that trouble broke out when the youth tried to stop a villager from thrashing a labourer. "This led to a clash between the two communities. Both the sides fired at each other. The youth was hit by a bullet and died on his way to the hospital," an eyewitness said. One person has been arrested in connection with the murder. Matkota area in Hathras district witnessed communal clashes on Wednesday when some people objected to dumping of construction material on the road. The construction material was meant to build a house in the locality. The clash left two people injured. (India Today 14/11/14) Six communal violence incidents in UP in April-Augu st period (7) LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh government on Monday said that between April to August this year, six incidents of communal tension took place in the state. "In UP, six incidents of communal tension were reported between April to Aug 25, 2014", parliamentary affairs minister Mohd Azam Khan said in Vidhan Sabha. Khan said this while replying to BJP member Satish Mahana in Vidhan Sabha during question hour. Accusing BJP for flaring up communal incidents, Khan claimed that he, "witnessed shame on the face of the BJP member when he was asking the question".Alleging that the BJP was taking advantage of communal tension for political gains, he said, " they took benefit of Muzaffarnagar riots. The person, who said 'leave to Pakistan' (for those not supporting Narendra Modi) is a central minister, those having criminal cases against them are MPs." On controlling such incidents, Khan said that detailed directives have been issued to district police chiefs and district magistrates to check such incidents and act timely to control them. "Continued dialogue and meetings should be held with locals to counter rumours, if any and holding regular meetings of peace committees have been issued", he said. (Times of India 18/11/14) Gujarat government took all necessary steps to cont rol riots: Nanavati (7) Ahmedabad: The 2002 post-Godhra riots were “purely communal” in nature and erupted specifically as a reaction to the Sabarmati train burning incident. The Gujarat government and the police took all necessary steps to control the incidents, Justice (retd.) G.T. Nanavati, Chairman of the Nanavati Commission of Inquiry, told The Hindu in an interview on Wednesday. “Whatever steps are required to be taken, we found that they were taken,” Mr. Nanavati said when asked if the State and the police had responded in an appropriate manner during the riots. On whether the Commission had given a clean chit to Mr. Modi, Mr. Nanavati refused to divulge the contents of the report. “That is a matter of the contents of the report and I would not like to disclose it at this stage. But I can only say that we have considered

everything. At this stage, I cannot say if the report indicts Mr. Modi or not.” In an indication that the Commission did not find any merit in the allegations against Mr. Modi, Mr. Nanavati said the panel saw “no justification” for calling him. Asked why the panel had not summoned Mr. Modi even as a point of inquiry, he said: “What inquiry. If there are nine allegations against you and if I find that almost eight allegations are false and there is only some substance in one allegation, should I call you to appear before the Commission personally, if I can get answers in some other manner?” Commenting on Mr. Modi’s role, he said, “Naturally, ultimately riots are initially required to be controlled by the police. So, obviously the police will be involved. The State being ultimately responsible for law and order, the State’s role is also to be considered. So, we have to consider the role of the police force, the bureaucrats and also the top persons... We examined whether there was negligence, connivance, abetment.” Asked whether the panel saw the riots as spontaneous, Mr. Nanavati said: “It is a matter of inference and we have drawn the appropriate inference. The communal riots obviously happened because of the Godhra incident ... had the Godhra incident not happened, the riots would not have happened.” The Commission Chairman remained non-committal on whether the riots were heinous or brutal. “I don’t know what you mean by one of the most heinous incidents, because I am not aware of all the incidents everywhere. ” (The Hindu 20/11/14) Riot rate dipped in 2014, Rijiju tells Parliament ( 7) NEW DELHI: Incidents of communal violence have declined to 561 between January and October this year from 694 and 668 in the corresponding period of 2013 and 2012. Interestingly, the number of those killed in communal riots dipped from 143 (tentative figure cited in reply to a Lok Sabha question dated December 10, 2013) until October last year to 90 over the same period this year. The corresponding figure for 2012 was 94 deaths. Similarly, the number of those injured until October this year stood at 1,688, as compared to 1,978 (as per the data placed in Parliament on December 10 last year) and 2,117 during the corresponding period of 2013 and 2012 respectively. Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, while replying to a Rajya Sabha question on Wednesday seeking details of communal incidents in the current year, attributed the 561 incidents, 90 deaths and 1,688 injuries until October 31 this year to "religious factors, gender-related issues, land and property disputes and other miscellaneous issues".The higher casualty on account of communal riots during 2013 may be attributed to the violent clashes that broke out in Muzaffarnagar in August-September. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest levels of communal violence at nearly 250 incidents, 95 deaths and 313 injured (tentative figures as per December 10, 2013 data). (Times of India 27/11/14)

Govt data shows big drop in communal violence acros s the country (7) NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh led a nationwide decline in communal violence until October this year, with incidents in the state down by nearly half and deaths at one-third of the number recorded in 2013. The sharp drop in numbers though can partly be explained by the Muzaffarnagar riots last year which caused more than usual deaths and injuries. UP, which as per data presented in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday recorded the highest incidence of communal violence since 2012, witnessed 129 incidents (down from 247 in entire 2013) and 25 deaths (from 77) until October this year. However, the number of those injured due to rioting in the state was 364, still higher than the 360 injured reported in 2013. Ranking behind UP in terms of communal occurrences until October were states like Maharashtra (82 incidents), Karnataka (68), Rajasthan (61), Gujarat (59), Bihar (51) and Madhya Pradesh (42). Delhi, which had registered insignificant levels of communal violence since 2011, witnessed a spike this year with seven incidents, which caused one death and left 101 injured. This is big when compared to the figures of four, three and two incidents that were reported in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. Fatalities in Delhi were nil over the last three years and injuries at 8, 28 and 1 in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. While there was no major difference in incidents of communal violence reported from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka and

Gujarat as compared to the recent past, Madhya Pradesh, which has traditionally been a close third after Maharashtra in number of flare-ups, showed significant improvement with incidents and non-fatal casualties down by a half as compared to 2013. Kerala too witnessed somewhat of a turnaround, with communal incidents in the southern state down at just three and the injured at 13 from 41 and 65, respectively, in the whole of 2013. Though communal incidents and deaths were around the same levels in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan, the number of injured fell significantly to 165, 151 and 116 till October 2014 from 352, 235 and 194 respectively last year. Nationally, incidents were down from 823 in 2013 to 561 until October this year, while the number of those killed and injured in rioting fell to 90 and 1,688 from 133 and 2,269 last year. Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, while placing this data as part of his reply to a Lok Sabha question, attributed communal outbreaks to "religious factors, gender-related disputes, alleged blasphemous portrayal of religion/religious symbols on social media/mobile applications, disputes over land belonging to religious sites and other issues". (Times of India 3/12/14) Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti uproar paralyses Houses despi te apology (7) New Delhi: Strongly disapproving of controversial remarks made by its leaders, including Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked BJP leaders to refrain from statements that gave a bad name to the government and the party. The government had to face flak over Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s remarks at a public rally in New Delhi Monday, with the Opposition seeking an apology from the Prime Minister and sacking of his minister for making communal remarks and using an expletive. Though the minister apologised for her remarks, a united Opposition insisted that she be dismissed and disrupted the Parliament proceedings. The Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned for the day. Some MPs also demanded that a criminal case be filed against her for asking voters at a public meeting to elect the “sons of Ram” and not “illegitimate sons”. Sources said that at the BJP parliamentary party meeting, the PM told MPs to be cautious while making public comments, and asked them not to give any “address to the nation”, While Mr Modi did not name anyone while disapproving of controversial remarks by BJP leaders, sources said Ms Jyoti was later told that she should express regret over her remarks. Under attack from the Opposition, the minister said in the Rajya Sabha: “If certain words spoken by me outside the House have hurt someone, I take back my words and offer regret. However, if the House feels so, I am also ready to seek an apology.” In the Lok Sabha, she said: “My intention was not to hurt anyone. If my speech outside the House has hurt anyone, I express my deep regrets and accept...” The Opposition members, however, stormed into the well and demanded her sacking. “A mere apology will not suffice. She will have to resign,” they said. As soon as both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha met for the day, the Opposition members created an uproar over Ms Jyoti’s alleged communal remarks and using an expletive at a poll rally. Members from the Congress, SP, Trinamul and other parties rushed into the well, leading to repeated adjournments of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha in the pre-lunch sitting. The Congress had given adjournment notices in both Houses on the issue, but they were rejected. Congress Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge reminded Speaker Sumitra Mahajan of his party’s adjournment notices given over the reported statement of the minister and certain remarks by another minister, Giriraj Singh, in the past. Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, who led the attack, was later praised by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who was seen patting him after the minister was forced to express regret. When the Rajya Sabha reassembled at 2 pm after four adjournments, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury cited a Supreme Court as well as a Calcutta high court order to drive home the point that a mere apology was not enough and an FIR should be filed against her and she should be dismissed. He was supported by , Congress, Trinamul, SP and JD(U) members. Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi sought to calm the Opposition by contending that the minister had already apologised and the matter should be put to rest. But the Opposition remained adamant as deputy chairman P.J. Kurien expressed his inability to take action as the remarks were made outside the House. Finance minister Arun Jaitley, Leader of the Rajya Sabha, said Ms Jyoti’s remarks were “improper and unacceptable”. He, however, said the House cannot decide whether her action was criminal in nature, and it should be left to

the agencies outside the House. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said the issue was not just about one minister, recalling that another minister, Giriraj Singh, had some time back made controversial comments. Congress member Anand Sharma demanded Ms Jyoti’s arrest. Mr Yechury said that by apologising, the minister had accepted her “offence”, which is cognisable, and thus an FIR should be lodged against her. In the Lok Sabha, parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said it was a “serious” matter and the minister wanted to express her regret in the House. Later, addressing the media, Mr Naidu rejected the Opposition’s demand, saying the matter had ended after the minister realised her mistake and apologised. “She has realised her mistake and acknowledged it, so the matter ends there... She told me she never intended it, so I counselled her. What is wrong with it. As parliamentary affairs minister, it’s my duty to coordinate with ministers, the Opposition... She is a woman from an economically weaker background who has risen without all sorts of support.” He added that many Congress leaders had used objectionable words in the past too, and had never even apologised for those. (Asian Age 4/12/14) Communal tension worries government (7) New Delhi: Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have witnessed communal tension in the last few days. This has become a cause for concern for the Union home ministry, which has got reports of communal incidents being reported from some parts of the four states. The areas where communal incidents have been reported are Allahabad and Meerut in UP, Nandurbar and Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, Dharwad in Karnataka and Panchmahals in Gujarat where the police has registered a case and arrested two youth belonging to the majority community after they assaulted and injured youth of the minority community. On Wednesday, the MHA informed Parliament that 694 communal incidents were reported during January-October 2013 while 561 communal incidents were reported during January-October 2014. The ministry claimed the figures show there was a decline of 19 per cent in communal incidents during the period January-October 2014 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2013. It further said the activities of all organisations having a bearing on communal harmony in the country are under constant watch of law enforcement agencies and requisite legal action is taken, wherever necessary. (Asian Age 5/12/14) DYFI blames Sangh Parivar for communal tension (7) MANGALURU: The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) accused activists related to the Sangh Parivar of blowing the Ulaibettu group clash out of proportion and instigating communal tension in the area. In a press note, DYFI State president Muneer Katipalla said the clash in Ulaibettu on Friday night was following provocative actions by a group of people bound to Bababudangiri in Chikkamagaluru. Bajarang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other organisations had no right to call for a bandh and indulge in stone throwing on Monday. He also alleged the police arrested innocent persons from a particular community. Mr. Katipalla asked the State government to intervene in this issue and take stringent action and restore peace in the area. (The Hindu 9/12/14) Bengali slum dwellers caught in crossfire (7) Agra: Domestic scrap dealer Mumtaz Begum dodges the television cameras in her slum. A member of the 350-odd Bengali Muslim community in Ved Nagar, Agra, Ms. Begum was allegedly converted to Hinduism on Monday by activists of Hindutva organisations. She said she took part in a ritual organised by several persons who held saffron flags, as she was promised a 'Below Povety Line' ration card and the government's Unique Identification Number -- entitlements her family has not received after migrating from Rampurhat near Kolkata around three years ago. "These people (with flags) filled out several forms for us on Monday before make us sit near the fire while they chanted prayers. They said that we will get all benefits from government and also get proper houses to live in. When they started photographing us after the ritual, I got scared and ran away," she told The Hindu. Ms. Begum added that the police questioned her later that day and since then journalists and Muslim clerics have been making repeated

visits. Based on a complaint from community leader Ismail, the police filed a case of disturbing public tranquility and cheating against one Kishore Valmiki. On Wednesday, Muslims from both Deobandi and Barelvi schools visited the slum, which has open sewers and no toilets. "This misfortune has come upon you and Agra because you strayed away from Allah. Stop dressing like unbelievers and grow beards. Make your women read the Quran and cover their faces," shoe-trader Haji Ikram told a gathering of the slum's residents. Ismail, who migrated from Tulia in West Bengal's 24 Parganas to Agra 17 years ago, admits that they were attracted by the entitlements offered, but denies converting. "They said we would get all this if we pose for pictures with idols of goddess Kali. I didn't know I was being converted. I still believe in Allah. We have never had any differences with Hindus and we don't see ourselves as different from Hindu scrap collectors," he said. Bajrang Dal's Uttar Pradesh co-convenor Avneendra Pratap Singh alias Ajju Chauhan says that he was instrumental in 'converting' the Bengalis and that Mr. Valmiki is an associate of Rajeshwar Singh, Kshetra Pramukh of the Dharma Jagran Samanwaya Vibhag, who was also present at the ceremony. Mr. Singh claimed that the scrap dealers, who are on rented premises, worship Kali during Navratri. "Their ancestors are Hindus and they approached us to bring them home. Ration cards are too small an allurement to convert and they are saying this under pressure from Muslim leaders and the government," he said. He claimed that 350 Bengalis were "purified". A glance at a diary of the police Local Intelligence Unit revealed 57 names of Bengalis who participated in the Monday ritual. A police officer said that they appear to be Indian nationals and more names would be added. Local youth said that the Bengalis had brought disrepute to the area. "They are Hindus and if they reconvert to Islam we will expel them from this area," local resident Shubham Shrivastava told this paper. Local elder RC Bhaskar, Founder of the Panchsheel Degree College here, explained that conversion is a new phenomenon in the Cantonment Area which has a BSP MLA. "Ambedkarite ideology has been the mainstream political discourse here in the last three decades. Of late, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has gained followers in Ved Nagar mainly from the upper castes from other districts who have built houses here. There is still no communal tension here, but incidents like this have created mistrust among people in Agra," he said. (The Hindu 11/12/14) Workshop by minorities commission to spread communa l harmony (7) MANGALURU: Chairperson of Karnataka State Minorities Commission, Balkhees Banu, on Friday said the Commission has planned to hold workshops across the state to inculcate among people the values of communal harmony, love among human beings and other issues. Speaking to presspersons here during her visit to the district, Ms. Banu said no religion preaches hatred and violence. Referring to recent communal violence in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, the Chairperson said she has urged people belonging to minority communities to walk a mile forward in extending friendly gesture towards others and live harmoniously. The workshops, Ms. Banu said would either be held at district headquarters or at taluk headquarters if people belonging to minority communities live in such places in large numbers. This is one of the several steps being envisaged by the Commission to ensure peace in society, she said. At Gangolli in Udupi, she prevailed upon the victims belonging to minority communities whose shops had been gutted allegedly by miscreants, to accept compensation of Rs. 25,000 each provided by the district administration, though the actual loss was more. She told the people from minority community in Ulaibettu area in Dakshina Kannada not to agitate over the issue and concentrate on harmonious living. Meanwhile, the Commission would get a formal report on Ulaibettu clashes from the district administration in about a week and would submit the same with suitable recommendations to the government, Ms. Banu said. She said during her meeting with the district administration on Friday, she raised several issues concerning the minority communities, including housing, ration, infrastructure etc., which she got to know from people who met her before the meeting. The administration has responded positively and promised to address the issues, Ms. Banu added. It is high time that people belonging to minority communities — Muslim, Christian, Jain, Sikh and Parsi —make use of several welfare schemes being offered by the State government. The Karnataka State Minorities Commission has urged the Dakshina Kannada district

administration to withdraw petty cases filed against innocent people belonging to all the communities in connection with the recent Ulaibettu communal clashes. Commission Chairperson, Balkhees Banu told presspersons here, “The local people had no issues; it is the outsiders who make speeches and provoke people. While the rich would remain unaffected, it is the poor who suffer the impact.” (The Hindu 12/12/14) Prohibitory orders imposed in Aligarh (7) Lucknow, Dec. 14: Orders banning large congregations were imposed in Aligarh today ahead of conversions planned by the RSS on Christmas Day as the son of a key leader behind one such event in Agra last week was arrested. "I have instructed all districts under this (Aligarh) division to enforce prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC. We are not going to allow the conversion camp proposed on December 25. All steps are being taken to stop this," Aligarh range DIG Mohit Agarwal said today. The order, which bars gatherings of more than four persons, will also cover the neighbouring Hathras, Etah and Kashganj districts. The areas, like Aligarh town, have an overwhelming minority population. The Dharma Jagran Samanway Vibhag, a Sangh offshoot, has announced plans to "reconvert" 5,000 Christians and Muslims. Uttar Pradesh BJP MPs, Yogi Adityanath of Gorakhpur and Satish Gautam of Aligarh, have said they will preside over the programme. Adityanath has accused the Aligarh administration and media of presenting a "distorted perception" of the plans. "People are willing to reconvert in our programme we call ghar wapsi (homecoming). The event will happen as scheduled and I will be there." Vidyaram Pandey, an Aligarh RSS leader, slammed the curbs clamped today. "This is a programme for forging unity among Hindus. How can the police ban it? We will go ahead and hold it." The showdown signals came even as the hunt for Kishore Valmiki, the leader alleged to be behind the Agra conversions and associated with the Jagran Vibhag, continued. Valmiki's son Rahul and an RSS activist, Krishna Kumar, were arrested last night from Etah on charges of trying to organise more conversion camps, the police said. (The Telegraph 15/12/14) Gujarat conversions spark anger (7) Valsad/New Delhi: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) came under fire Sunday from the Congress and other opposition parties after more than 200 tribal Christians were converted to Hinduism in Gujarat. "Extreme right wing is flexing its muscles. VHP/RSS through Hindutva ... rewriting history and economic policies," Congress leader Digvijay Singh posted on Twitter. Another Congress leader Rashid Alvi said such acts by right-wing outfits only created a bad impression about India across the world. "This is totally unfortunate whatever is happening. In the world, India had a different image of having people practising various religious beliefs, speaking different languages -- based on which the country was built... These actions will only create bad impression about the country," Alvi told ANI. "Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and others are trying to destroy the country. If these people have been converted by coercion or inducement then it is a clear violation of law. But then what kind of image of India will be in the world," he added. CPI leader D Raja also hit out at the VHP's move saying, "India is not a Hindu Rashtra, but a democratic republic.” A Gujarat-based priest said he could not "accept that anyone who has been a Christian will convert to other religion by personal choice"."VHP is forcing people and luring them to convert their religion," Father Dominic was quoted as saying by Zee News. Saturday's mass ceremony took place in a tribal village 350 kilometres south of Ahmedabad."As part of the ongoing 'ghar-wapsi' programme, VHP re-converted 225 people from Christian community and took them back into Hindu religion," said Valsad district VHP chief Natu Patel. VHP organised a 'Maha Yagnya' (ritual of the sacred fire) for "purification" of the tribals before taking them back in Hindu-fold and also gave each of them a copy of Bhagwad Gita. One of the converts told AFP they were promised ration cards and other financial incentives if they switched religions. The VHP ceremony came just hours after BJP president Amit Shah dared opposition parties to move a bill against "forcible conversions" The incident came against the

backdrop of a raging debate over such programmes being organised by Sangh Parivar groups in various parts of the country. A controversy had erupted early this month when a right wing group had organised a 'ghar-wapsi' drive wherein it reportedly converted about 100 Muslims in Agra in Uttar Pradesh. The incident had created a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha, with the Opposition demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A similar incident was also reported from BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh where a party MP had claimed 39 tribal Christians were re-converted to Hinduism in Maoist-hit Bastar district in October this year. If people are converting voluntarily,there should be no problem, but if force is being used, State Govt should take action: Venkaiah Naidu (Hindustan Times 21/12/14) After Trilokpuri and Bawana, Delhi is nervous again (7) New Delhi: Barely two months after he saw his neighbourhood burning, Trilokpuri resident Zeeshan Haider is again getting a sense of foreboding after RSS-backed organisations decided to felicitate converted Muslims from Meerut at a rally in central Delhi's Ramlila grounds on Christmas. "The situation had just started getting better. Hindus and Muslims had started interacting amicably again, going about their business normally," the 27-year-old told HT on Monday. "The talk about conversions may again polarise and lead to bitterness." The poll-bound Capital has slowly been getting on the boil in the last few months. From Dalit colonies to campuses, from shop corners to office water coolers, talk swirls around imminent polarisation. November's Trilokpuri violence that injured over 70 was immediately followed by communal tensions in northwest Delhi's Bawana. Earlier this month, a prominent Catholic church in northeast Delhi's Dilshad Garden burnt down amid allegations of foul play and religious polarisation in the city ahead of assembly polls likely early next year. As organisers put up tents for participants at the Ramlila grounds and the police up their presence, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's recent call to Delhiites to fund tribals so that they don't convert has added to the murmurs. "Those who have willingly converted should be left alone. I know a few of them," said Ramesh Singh, 47, a dry fruits trader from the old city. "But forcible conversions, be it from any religion, must stop." Even BJP leaders are in two minds. "At a time when the Opposition is targeting then BJP over conversions, senior leaders should ideally stay away from such an event," said a leader of the BJP's Delhi unit, requesting anonymity. "But we don't have much of a say in this. Seniors take the call. If they want members of the Delhi BJP to attend, we will have to," he added. The RSS expects 25,000 to participate from across Delhi and the national capital region with around 5,000 of them from Gurgaon. "There will be RSS members, students of DAV schools and members of the Arya Samaj too. In support of the PM's Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, there will be a special float (jhaki) and after the event, RSS leaders will clean the rally venue," said RSS leader Vagish Issar. He said Dalits would participate in big numbers, a community the BJP wants to win over from the Aam Aadmi Party. Elections, after all, are just round the bend. (Hindustan Times 23/12/14) Anti-conversion bill will create communal tension: Archbishop Moras (7) BENGALURU: Bernard Moras, the archbishop of Bengaluru has said that the NDA pushing for the proposed anti-conversion bill was in contradiction of its election manifesto of upholding the secular tenets of the constitution and that is will create communal tension in the county, whose citizens have the right to follow the faith of their choice voluntarily. Chief minister Siddaramaih, and home minister K J George also condemned the move with the former saying the State will not support the bill. Rendering his Christmas message, Moras said that the move "desecrates the constitution and is usurping the constitutional rights." "...All of us are against forceful conversion, but if persons, on their own free will, wish to embrace any religion, how can we label it fraudulent?" he asked. Stating that the Christian community opposes the bill in a bid to safe guard the secular fabric of the nation, he said: "If we aren't making out opinions known to people, especially those in power, the anti-conversion bill will be forced upon us. The government, by forcibly introducing this wants to create communal tension and polarization in the country, and will unnecessarily cause a serious infringement of fundamental rights." He also sought explanation from the

government about other religious leaders propagating their religious tenets to the people here and abroad so as to make them embrace the religion they propagate. Answering a specific question on the sidelines before Moras spoke, George said: "Any government should respect the constitution and not bring about drastic changes to it. Just as the constitution does not support forceful conversions, it gives citizens the rights to voluntarily pick the religion they want to follow." Siddaramaiah, made a more formal commitment by including his disagreement in his speech. "Hinduism prescribes mutual respect for all religions and beliefs, but some people like building walls between people and cause trouble. The makers of our constitution had a secular India in mind and nobody should contradict it. The congress is a secular party and we'll not support this." He added that there will be no compromise from the government here… (Times of India 24/12/14) Tension in Assam areas, day curfew relaxed (7) Guwahati : Curfew was relaxed for a few hours Sunday in Assam's violence-hit districts where the death toll in ethnic violence now officially stands at 75, officials said. Tension persisted in Kokrajhar and Sonitpur districts in particular which accounted for most killings, Home Secretary Pratik Hajela said. Hajela added that the army and other security forces had intensified their operations against Bodo militants who massacred unarmed adivasis Dec 23 in three districts, inviting retaliatory violence. The security crackdown is taking place along the border with Bhutan. "We hope the situation will improve soon," Hajela said. The army has deployed 66 columns for the operation. The central government has sent 50 companies of paramilitary forces to Assam. Another official said the district administrations Sunday relaxed the curfew imposed after the violence for a few hours but said the night curfew will continue. Security forces are particularly active in the four Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri. Operations are also going on along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Sonitpur, the worst affected district. On Saturday, army chief Gen Dalbir Singh reviewed the situation in Assam in the wake of violence unleashed by the anti-talk faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). The violence has displaced over one lakh people in four districts. Hajela said Bodo militants killed 41 people, including 15 women and 14 children, in Sonitpur district. Another 31 tribals, including 10 women and four children, were killed in Kokrajhar district. The militants killed another three people in Chirang district. Three people also died in police firing at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur when thousands of tribals took to the streets to denounce the violence. Hajela said the dead included 61 adivasis, including the three in police firing, 12 Bodos and two Bengali-speaking people. "Although the NDFB's violence affected three districts initially, its backlash spread to neighbouring Udalguri district. A total of 364 houses have been set on fire in the four districts. Hazela said the state government had prioritised relief work for the over one lakh people living in 81 relief camps. There are over 80,000 people in 52 relief camps in Kokrajhar, about 12,000 people in 11 camps in Chirang and 6,485 people in nine other camps in Sonitpur, he said. The government has opened centres across the state to collect donations to help out the homeless. "If anyone wants to donate clothes, foods or cash, they can. We will distribute these," the official said. (Business Standard 28/12/14) MP: Cow slaughter causes communal tension (7) Curfew was clamped in Gairatganj town of Raisen district, 50 km from Bhopal, on Monday following communal tension over alleged cow slaughter in butcher's market. Superintendent of police (SP) Deepak Verma said the police had received information about cow slaughter in a butcher's market at Gairatganj. When a police team reached the market, skin and flesh of cow were recovered. "One of the butchers, who had sacrificed the cow, has been arrested while the other fled from the spot," he added. After the incident, rumours led to communal tension in the area. Some incidents of arson and stone pelting were also reported. Saffron organisations also held a demonstration and created ruckus at the bus stand. Police used tear gas to control the situation and resorted to use of force to disburse the mob. District administration imposed section 144 in the town. But after reviewing the condition, collector JK Jain

imposed curfew. In the violent incidents, about half-a-dozen people have received injuries. Additional police forces from Begumganj, Silwani, Sagar, Vidisha and Raisen have been rushed to Gairatganj. Collector JK Jain said police have arrested 13 people who were spreading rumours and intensifying tension in the town. Superintendent of police Verma said, "Police are trying to nab the other accused in cow slaughter incident. Now, the situation is under control. No reports of violence have been reported in the evening." This is the third time when curfew has been imposed at a place in Raisen district because of communal tension. (Hindustan Times 30/12/14)