Gujarat horror tales revisited - Public hearing by Sahmat-CPJ

(The Hindu
Dec 22, 2006)

Gujarat horror tales revisited

Parul Sharma

Survivors seek CBI probe into riots; shift of cases outside Gujarat

# CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury assures survivors of all support in their fight for justice
# Survivors say they had lost all faith in the State authorities

NEW DELHI : Shabana Bondubhai turned emotional as she recounted the events of the day when her mother and younger sister were burnt alive by a mob during the Gujarat riots in 2002.

"It was a huge mob. They were brandishing swords, and attacked our village in Naoda-Gam-Patiya. We complained to the police but to no avail. They did not protect us when we needed them the most. We were trying to escape when the mob trapped us in an alley and set some of us afire," she said amid tears at a programme organised by Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) here on Wednesday.

Ms. Shabana was among the survivors of the 2002 Gujarat communal violence who gathered in the Capital to share their tales of horror.

Saeed Khan Ahmed Khan Pathan from Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad narrated how rioters entered their complex and set it afire.

"Ten members of my family and 68 locals were killed as police kept watching. They did not stop anyone. Our entire complex was gutted in the fire. The place is in a shambles today. We had our own houses earlier and today we live in rented accommodation," he said.

"During the riots, we took refuge in a former Congress MP's house. He telephoned practically everyone he knew and all the authorities, but to no avail. He was killed in front of us."

Jannat Bi from Naroda Patia — whose nephew was killed during in the Gujarat violence — alleged that the perpetrators of the violence were "roaming free."

"I had named many people in First Information Report . Some of them were political leaders too. But no one was punished. We have suffered so much because of them and they are enjoying themselves while we try to pick up pieces of our lives."

She said the State Government's relief measures as were "inadequate."

"They have given us new houses on the outskirts of the city, which is far away from where we work. It is not feasible for us to go and stay there," Ms. Jannat Bi said.

Johra Bi from Pandharwada told reporters how police threatened her family members when they began exhuming bodies that had been allegedly dumped in a riverbed.

"Someone told us that the remains of the Pandharwada and other massacres have been dumped in the Paanam river bank off Lunawada town. When the families began to dig up the area, the police officials began harassing us accusing us of exhuming bodies "illegally."

Missing persons

All the riot survivors demanded a CBI probe into the cases of rioting and missing persons. They also appealed to the Supreme Court to shift the hearing of their cases to some other State as they had "lost all faith in the State authorities."

Political leaders like such as CPI (M) Politburo Bureau member Sitaram Yechury and Congress MP Madhusudan Mistry who were present during the event expressed their support in the to the survivors' fight for justice.

"We will press the UPA Government to do more than they are doing presently for the victims of the Gujarat communal riots. We will do whatever we can to demand for a CBI probe in the issue," Mr. Yechury said.