By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The National Commission For Minorities (NCM) will soon be visiting Forbesganj, a block in the Araria district of Bihar where 6 Muslim labors including two women and an infant were brutally killed by Bihar Police on June 3. It has asked the government of Bihar to submit a report.
The state government will send the report to the commission in a day or two after which the Commission will take required action which includes visiting the area where the police firing took place.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Wajahat Habibullah, NCM chief, said that “after studying the report of the state government, the commission will take necessary action to ascertain the facts which might require us to visit the area.”
“There are several angles to the case which the commission wants to look at. For instance what are the action which the commission wants the state government to take and then how much compensation should be given to the relatives of victims. But for that first we need to study the report and visit the area and hear the aggrieved parties in the case,” added Habibullah, the former Chief Information Commissioner.
The Commission has become active after Md. Afzal, a Hyderabad based academician who is holidaying in Araria, submitted a petition with the NCM for its intervention in the Forbesganj firing case.
When asked why the Commission cannot order some immediate remedial measures like suspension of the responsible police officers and compensation to the victims, Habibullah expressed his helplessness citing the lack of judicial powers to the commission.
“We have power just to recommend action. So we actually can’t order. At best, we can recommend. But even for that the commission needs to do an enquiry to ascertain the facts of the case.”
So whatever be the case, it seems that the victims of the firing incident won’t get justice any time soon. The government agencies should take a cue from the saying, “Justice delayed is Justice denied.”