By TCN Special Correspondent,
Lucknow: Senior official arrived from Lucknow, took round of the affected place and announced that culprits will be booked. Police started nabbing one and sundry while fear continues to haunt the people.
The story was repeated with same sequence in Kosi Kalan at Mathura on Saturday. ADG Jagmohan Yadav arrived from Lucknow and took stock of the situation. Administration came forward with four deaths.
Unofficially the figures are more with many of them still missing. Female folks were subjected to brutality by the rioters. The situation as claimed by administration is normal but it is anything except being ‘normal’.
Kosi Kalan is a small town with a minority population of Muslims. Surrounded by Hindu villages mostly Jats, the Muslims are engaged in small trade and menial jobs. They are never a threat to anyone due to their poor economic and socially backward situation.
When the riot broke out, hundreds of people arrived from surrounding villages and gheraoed the Kosi Kalan town. It was free for all, people were beaten up after being dragged from their house. Their shops and houses were burnt. Females were subjected to torture. Police could only urge them to stop but not prevent them.
Kosi Kalan has a past history of tensions also. Though it never erupted on such a large scale. After 1947, the tension erupted over route of tazia but it was controlled. In 1984, again there was too much tension in the town over eve-teasing and markets remained closed for 17 days but nothing happened. In 2008 again another attempt was made but rioters did not succeed. But finally the rioters succeeded on Friday. On Saturday, the curfew remained clamped while people lived with fear apprehending another breakout of violence.