UP’s riot-stricken Muzaffarnagar: Bloody Path of Political Agenda

Mainstream, VOL LI, No 42, October 5, 2013

Muzaffarnagar: Bloody Path of Political Agenda — Footprints of Evil Designs

by BHASHA SINGH

The following is a reportage by a senior journalist after a visit to UP’s riot-stricken Muzaffarnagar.

‘Nobody burnt those houses.’ In a very dim light and highly surcharged environment they accept only 100 houses were burnt, but they don’t know who turned them into ashes. All Muslims of the village are on the run, but they exactly don’t know why. What happened on the dark day of September 7 and 8, nobody is ready to share, but they add it all happened suddenly and the whole wrathful exercise was over in just 10 to 15 minutes. Village head Ajit Singh along with others suggested that some Muslims burnt their own powerlooms and others torched their own houses to get compensation from the Uttar Pradesh Government.

We were asked to leave the village as it was getting tense and dark, so even with a busfull of Armymen we were not considered safe. Phugana SHO K.P. Sharma was putting pressure on us. He bluntly refused my request to visit the adjacent village, Lakh, which has also witnessed horrifying violence. He just said in a very anguished tone: ‘Madam, I think you have to go back to the Capital. Now focus on your safe return. Any moment there can be stone- pelting or some untoward incident, then even Army cover will be of no use …’ I looked around us, at each step we were covered by Army personnel, but we could feel the tension in the air, which was so heavy that many of us were feeling suffocated. [. . .].
FULL TEXT AT: http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article4497.html