By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: Four and half months after the Nitish Kumar cabinet decided for a judicial probe into the June 3 police firing of Forbesganj, the one-member judicial commission has got an office in Patna, and now the commission will announce date and place for preliminary hearing into the case. The state government had given six months to the commission to submit its report. About five months have passed since the firing.
In today’s edition of some Urdu dailies published from Patna, the judicial commission headed by Retd Justice Madhvendra Sharan has published its office address and asked interested persons/organizations to send their grievances on the firing issue in affidavit form with proper evidence. The last date for the affidavits to reach the commission is 25th November 2011.
Press notice of Judicial Commission on Forbesganj firing published in Patna Urdu dailies on 24th Oct 2011
Address of the commission: Judicial Commission for Forbesganj Firing Incident, Quarter No. 12 & 13, Back Harding Road, Patna-800001.
It is interesting to note here that the commission, in its first and brief visit to Bhajanpur village in Forbesganj on 30th July 2011, had told the villagers and victim families that the office address would be published in local dailies within three days and they will send their affidavits to that address, but actually it took almost three months for the commission to publish that address.
The deliberate delay in the process to give justice to the firing victims and bring culprits to book has disappointed community leaders. They see the latest development as an eyewash or face saving exercise to face the Supreme Court which has sought its reply on a petition for CBI probe into the police firing.
“Today’s development is nothing but the result of Supreme Court’s intervention in the case. The SC notice has worked as a force,” says Nayyar Fatmi, convenor of the ad-hoc committee formed by Muslim organizations in July to take up the Forbesganj firing case. He alleged that there seems to be pressure on the judicial commission to delay the probe or hush up the case. Fatmi also said that publication of notification by the commission after four months could be either to divert people particularly Muslims’ attention from mass movement for AMU Kishanganj centre or just to pacify anger of the community over the AMU issue.
But he urged the commission to clarify the delay in getting an office to start the work.
“The Commission should clarify the delay. People have right to know the reasons of the delay,” Fatmi said.
Meanwhile, Fatmi today called an urgent meeting of the ad-hoc committee of Muslim organizations to discuss the latest development and chalk out future strategy. The meeting was attended by Nayyaruzzaman, president, Jamaat-e-Islami Bihar, Zafar Imam, president, Momin Conference Bihar and others.
On the other hand, Momin Conference Bihar has termed the publication of the notice in today’s papers as eyewash. “This is nothing but an eyewash. As for justice to the victims, the intension of Nitish Kumar government is not clear. In fact he seems to be working under pressure from ally BJP,” said Zafar Imam, president, Momin Conference Bihar. He also said that his organization will become a party of the case and file affidavit.
Chronology of Forbesganj firing case
3rd June 2011: Villagers of Bhajanpur came out to protest the blockade of their old road by an upcoming factory. The police opened fire on the protesters killing four including one infant and a pregnant woman besides two youngsters.
4th June 2011: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sent two higher officers including home secretary to the village to take stock of the situation. Reportedly they initially tried to hush up the case saying police opened fire in defence but only after a video clip showing a policeman tromping half dead body of an unarmed youngster surfaced they recommended for a judicial probe.
7th June 2011: Bihar cabinet headed by Nitish decided for a judicial probe into the firing. It said the commission will submit report in six months and only then the government will take any action – the government has not suspended any police officer even though the SP was present when the firing took place. The government also did not give any compensation to victim families pending it to the report of the judicial commission.
22nd June 2011: The state government issued formal notification constituting the judicial commission headed by retired justice Madhvendra Sharan with three terms of reference: Circumstances leading to the incident on June 3; sequence of events on June 3; justification of the police firing. On the same day, Wajahat Habibullah, Chairman, National Commission for Minorities visited Forbesganj and talked to the victims.
30th July 2011: The one-man judicial commission visited Forbesganj and talked to firing victims, police officers and officials of Auro Sundaram International Pvt Ltd – the company which usurped the road of the village. The commission told the villagers that it will publish a notification in local dailies within few days and they will send their grievances in affidavit form to the office address given in the notice.
10th October 2011: The Supreme Court of India issued notice to Bihar government on a plea for CBI probe into the firing. Civil rights group Association for Protection of Civil Rights had approached the apex court pleading for a CBI probe as the judicial probe will not bring truth to for. The court gave four weeks time to the state government to reply.
18th October 2011: The Patna High Court ordered Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA), a Bihar government body, to reply to allegations of irregularities in land allotments to kins of politicians and bureaucrats. The Forbesganj plots, which usurped the road of the villagers, were among the plots which BIADA allotted allegedly violating rules. The Forbesganj plots were given to Auro Sundaram International Pvt Ltd whose one of the directors is Saurabh Agarwal, son of BJP MLC Ashok Agarwal. The Patna HC bench comprising Justices T Meena Kumari and Vikas Jain directed BIADA to file its reply by January 2012. The bench issued notice hearing PILs that alleged irregularities in land allotment and sought a CBI probe.
24th October 2011: The commission published the notice which it promised on 30th July 2011. The notice has office address of the commission and asked interested people/organizations to send their views on the firing issue in affidavit form by 25th November 2011.
Stories on Forbesganj police firing