By TCN News,
Jaipur: Rajasthan Muslim Forum, the umbrella body of prominent Muslim organizations in the state, has demanded resignation of Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal of Congress government in Rajasthan for the Udaipur riot which rendered hundreds of people homeless last month.
Rajasthan Muslim Forum along with human rights and social organizations held a demonstration at Badi Chauper in Jaipur recently where as many as 60 affected persons from Sarada village in Udaipur district narrated their story of pain and how a fight between two criminals was given communal color.
JIH Rajasthan President Er. Md Saleem addressing the demonstrators
The protestors demanded that state Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal should take responsibility for the incident and step down. They also demanded suspension of DM, SP and IG of Udaipur and lodging of criminal case against them. The rioters who are still roaming free should be booked, they urged the government.
The state government should compensate for damaged homes and shops, order a judicial enquiry into the incident and chief minister should apologize as he could not protect the people during the violence, the Forum demanded.
Those who attended the protest included Er Mohd Saleem, state president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Adv Abdul Qayyum Akhtar, General Secretary of All India Milli Council Rajasthan, Comrade Waqarul Haq, president of Tahaffuze Awkaf Committee, Hafiz Manzoor Ali Khan, state secretary of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind besides Rajasthan PUCL President Prem Krishna Sharma and General Secretary Kavita Srivastava.
Talking to TCN Er Mohd Saleem charged the state Congress government of being insensitive to the Udaipur communal riot victims. The government has not announced any compensation nor ordered any enquiry into the incident. He said that Muslim Forum leaders are trying to meet CM Ashok Gehlot on Udaipur riot but after several attempts they are yet to get appointment.
He said the Congress government is doing nothing to decommunalize the administration. “There is no difference between BJP and Congress as far as communal minded administration is concerned,” said Er Salim.
He further informed that when the Udaipur riot victims approached the police to file FIR they were turned down and the police on their own filed cases against some rioters and all of them have got bail.
The incident took place in the first week of this past July and continued for three weeks leaving at least 500 Muslim families homeless in about half a dozen villages of Udaipur district. Rajasthan PUCL sent a fact finding team to affected area. According to the PUCL report, the attack on Muslim families in Udaipur was planned following murder of a person from the Meena community. At least 70 homes of Muslims were looted and then put on fire in the very presence of Police and civil administration of the district.
According to the report, Shezad Khan and two of his associates murdered Mohan Meena, a wine dealer, during a fight when all were in inebriated condition, on 2nd July in Sarada village of Uaidpur. Even though the attackers were arrested and sent to jail, the local adivasi community, was provoked by Sangh Parivar groups and they hatched a conspiracy to loot and destroy the properties of the Muslim co-villagers.
For full story on PUCL fact-finding report:
(With inputs from Md Ali of TwoCircles.net in Delhi)