Police biased, say riot-hit of Palwal village

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Palwal, July 19

In the afternoon of July 5, 45-year-old Hasan Khan's afternoon nap in his Tikri Brahman village was interrupted by a distant shrill that grew louder by the minute. 

He stepped out and found a sword-brandishing "mob" on the rampage, setting on fire homes and unleashing terror as desperate women and wailing children searched for a place to escape its wrath. Nearly a fortnight later, the horror has forced 150 Muslim families to live under police protection in a village that has always been home to them. However, they don't feel safe. The policemen, they say, are adding to their nightmare, slapping cases against "their people", arresting them and "thrusting" a compromise on them.

"The mob comprised villagers and outsiders. Armed with lathis, petrol bombs and swords, they torched our homes, injured our men and created terror. This is the third incident in a year when we have been attacked for a frivolous reason. Despite being victims, we are being booked by the police only because the majority community wants the cases closed. And slapping counter cases against us is the only way to force a compromise," says Sahib Khan, a village elder.

The "attack" came after two Muslim boys went fishing in the village pond and used a  water channel of a field owned by the Hindus. This snowballed into a controversy and a "revenge mission". While the Muslim men were at hospital, attending to the injured, a few "outsiders" arrived at 10 pm.

"We protested, saying our men are not at home. We are illiterate women who cannot even dial a number. Within no time, virtually everything was torched," says a sobbing Rashidan, who sent her children away out of fear as most other women did.

The horrific trail the rampage left behind — half-burnt school books in cupboards, crater-sized holes from stone-pelting in concrete sheets, slippers strewn across the courtyard — still haunts the families. The villagers recall that they were subjected to a shower of stones from a school terrace where their children study.  Ahmadi and Zarina said though Eid passed off peacefully, insecurity still persists.

They claim that the "communal tension" is due to approaching panchayat elections. "We have forwarded a few RTI applications against the sarpanch, Ravi Dutt, and a case was also registered against him. My family was targeted and 15 houses were attacked," says Hasan Khan. 

The sarpanch, however, claims that he was trying to restore peace and did not care for "a few RTI applications" against him.

Yunus Ahmed, president of the Muslim Welfare society, says that the Muslims are sore over the step-motherly treatment being meted out to them by the police. "People of both the communities were called by the police to join investigation a couple of days back. Our men were 'detained' while those of the majority community were let off. It's only after the families protested that the detained Muslims were let off on bail," he says. The police maintain it is only “proceeding with investigations as per the law”. Superintendent of Police, Mithesh Jain, insists that all cases have been registered on the basis of complaints.

"If they have any grievance against the police, they can give a complaint and we will look into it. No arrests have been made but people from both sides were asked to join investigation. We are taking action in accordance with the law," he pointed out.  However, local MLA Karan Dalal who visited the village on Eid, said the attack was the "handiwork" of the Bajrang Dal. He had sought a ban on the organisation that was vitiating the village atmosphere. He, too, was critical of the police role.