By Areeb Rizvi for TwoCircles.net,
On 24 June 2013, Bagaha, a small town in Western Bihar made it to the national headlines after the Bagaha police indiscriminately opened fire on a protesting mob. The mob was protesting against the police laxity in tracing a missing tribal named Chandeshwar Kanjhi, who went missing from 15 June 2013.
Police firing claimed lives of eight and injured fifteen. Here the Tharu tribals faced the ire of police high-handedness. The Bagaha firing incident got response according to the new political equations in Bihar as the JD (U)-BJP alliance in the state broke few days prior to this incident. The Chief Minister Mr. Nitish Kumar announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased, Rs 50,000 each to those severely injured and Rs 25,000 each to those with minor injuries.
He also announced that the state government would bear the expense of those who are admitted in hospital. According to initial inquiry by ADG (Law) S. K Bhardwaj and IG (Prison) Anand Kishore the SP Sunil Kumar has been transferred while DSP Shailesh Kumar and three other police officers have been slammed with murder charges. A judicial probe has also been ordered.
However, former Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sushil Kumar Modi sat on dharna in protest against the firing on 28 June at Kargil Chowk in Patna and demanded the compensation amount to be Rs 10 lakhs instead of 5 lakhs. In order to avenge the JD (U)’s decision of breaking the 17-year old alliance he also raised the issue of Forbesganj police firing and said that the victims there are yet to get justice.
Sushil Modi claimed to have pleaded for compensation to the families of three victims of Forbesganj police firing but it was over-ruled. And he further explained that the mob was protesting against the blockade of road by a company co-owned by the son of a BJP MLC.
I guess that Mr. S.K Modi believe that we suffer from Amnesia! If Mr. S. K Modi is so much concerned for the plight of Forbesganj police firing victims then he needs to answer few questions. Why was he numb since June 2011 till 28 June 2013? Why he did not feel the need then to protest and pressurise the state to give compensation to the victims of Forbesganj police firing?
Recently, on 7 April, the Araria police had issued warrants against fifty people from Bhajanpur village including the three killed by the police itself on 3 June 2011. The victims feel they are being further victimized. Mr. S. K Modi, who was in government at that time, did not rush for their help. Was he waiting for his party’s alliance with JD(U) to break? A couplet of the great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib seems quite apt for him.
Jab diya ranj bu’tton ne, To khoda yaad aaya!
Few things he forgot to mention, however. He did not reveal that the BJP MLAC who co-owns the company is his close ally Mr. Ashok Agarwal. He even forgot to tell that on 29 May 2011, Mr. SK Modi himself had visited Forbesganj and had pressurised the administration to get the issue solved. After the incident he and Mr. Nitish Kumar said that the law does not permit any ex-gratia amount to victims as an enquiry is pending.
However, the Tharu tribals in Bagaha, who fell to the police bullets have been duly compensated. Even the proposed Communal and Targeted Violence bill suggests atleast 10 Lakhs of ex-gratia amount to victims of police firing. It is not a hidden fact that large section of the Muslim community has voted JD (U) to power in Bihar. The government which came to power claiming to be a secular party deprived the Muslim victims of their constitutional rights. Under article 164(3) of the Constitution of India every government is obliged and duty bound to ensure fair justice to all its citizens without any ill-intension.
The chairman of National Commission for Minorities Mr. Wajahat Habibullah made his best efforts to ensure justice to the victims of Forbesganj police firing. In a press conference at New Delhi, Mr. Habibullah slammed the Araria police to have mis-handled the situation and described the firing as unjustifiable. He also accused the Government of Bihar for not providing him with details regarding the states action into the incident.
Despite the states dubious behaviour one can also never forget how state Minority Affairs Minister Mr. Shahid Ali Khan tried to give the Forbesganj issue and Mr. Habibullah’s concerns a political colour by writing a letter to Mr. Salman Khurshid, (then Union Minister of Minority Affairs). The letter stated, “….but, at the same time I would like to bring to your notice that minorities in Bihar, especially the Muslims, are also deeply distressed by the incident that took place in Gopalgarh, Rajasthan…. Please convey our concern over this appalling incident to Wajahat Habibullah.”
The media which never failed to report even a minor theft and pickpocketing as the result of deteriorating law and order (Jungle raj) during Lalu-Rabri regime has surprisingly preferred to keep quiet on Forbesganj issue. Both communities Tharu tribals and the majority of the Muslim community live on the edge of the social and economic hierarchy. Victims who died in the firing were mostly the poor people. Yet the state treated these two similar incidents in two opposite ways. An important question needs to be answered by Mr. Nitish Kumar and Mr. SK Modi as well: What made Forbesganj firing victims different from the victims of the Bagaha firing?
[Areeb Rizvi is an undergraduate student of Sociology at Jamia Millia Islamia.]