ANHAD
23, canning lane, New delhi—110001
23070740/ 22
16 September 2011
Press Release
Bharatpur Police Firing
There was tension, fear, apprehension and a strange smell in the atmosphere.
AN Anhad Team comprising of Navaid Hamid (member, NIC), Shabnam Hashmi (social activist), Mohan Kumwat (documentary film maker), Apoorv Pandey (Anhad Production Housing), Ashim (NCDHR), Zakir Hussain, Ramzan Choudhury, Arif and Bashir & others visited Goplagunj , Ladumka and adjoining villages.
We read reports about the dispute over kabristan land, followed by clashes between Meos and Gujars. The official reports coming out in the media were very different from what we were hearing from the ground. Anhad has been working in Mewat for over two years and we received innumerable calls from local social activists, villagers about police firing, killings of Meos and a heavily biased attitude. It was on the basis of these phone calls that we decided to visit the area.
Our vehicle was stopped before we entered Rajasthan. The police officer said we have orders to stop you. It took us one and a half hours of negotiations, shoutings, several telephone calls to the CM and principle secretary’s office, and conversations with the collector before we were allowed to proceed. Meanwhile 7 jeeps full of policemen and a bus arrived to stop us from going any further.
The police throughout tried their best to misguide us and not to let us enter the villagers, they forced us to go to some madarsa saying victims were there. Again after a battle of words and shouting matches we were finally allowed to enter the mosque. As e were going in the police officer literally threatened us, if you take too much time we will leave, conveying that we won’t be responsible for your safety. Our team promptly told them to leave as we did not need their security.
There was nothing inside the mosque which was not broken. Inside and on the roof at least on 8-10 places there were big blood marks and marks of either the injured or dead being dragged. Some of them leading to dead wall ends from which obviously bodies/ injured must have been thrown down. The outside wall had more than 15-20 bullet marks and so did the inside walls. There were torn pages of Quran scattered in two places, broken glasses, bricks, blood soaked clothes, utensils etc.
In the villages we were heard stories of indiscriminate police firing on Meos, petrol being thrown on people before burning them, people missing, search for bodies still scattered over places etc. The villagers were constantly being threatened by the police not to give any information. Where ever we went the police force in hundreds reached before us. There was tension, fear, apprehension and a strange smell in the atmosphere.
The police kept on threatening us and asking us to leave. The collector called and said I advise you to leave immediately. We told him we will take another half an hour.
Then we went to the Eid gah which was so far locked but was opened for some time and the police was inside.
We found two charred dead bodies floating in the Eid gah well. We could see smoke coming out from the other side of the eidgah wall and we were told there are several bodies being burnt.
Before we could go and see that we were surrounded by police and arrested.
We were not allowed to go any further, to meet anyone else. We were taken to the police station and from there soon with police escort pushed out of Rajasthan border. Once we entered Haryana the police left us.
1. We do not want to speculate on number of dead. It is clear they are many more than official figures.
2. It is obvious that there is a lot more than meets the eye.
3. The police are destroying evidence.
Present status of SMS hospital patients of Jaipur
Emergency ward trauma centre
1. Haroon age 55 years police bullet near left eye with some more injury. Haroon said I got bullet injury through police vehicle person from blue vehicle and blue dress
2. Ismail age 30 years s/o Dinu village Niwasna seriously burned through petrol, Ismail said group of people came with petrol and tried to burn
3. Isa Khan age 24 years bullet inside stomach he said bullet from crowd
4. Saddam age 20 years burned through petrol inside mosque jumped from first floor to save life multiple injuries.
5. Balweer Mali age 25 year s bullet injury said got bullet injury from crowd side.
6. Omar Khan age 70 years old man multiple injury by Sharpe weapon. He was offering prayer in the mosque and suddenly people attacked on him. Very old man he was not in position to run away.
ICU ward patients
1. Abdul Rahman age 65 years multiple injury attacked from sharp weapon on head many stitches then left hand serious not in position to talk village Haldwadi.Attacked while preparing for Namaz(performing Wadu) inside mosque. Breathing through oxygen mask Very weak and seriously injured.
2. Farid s/o Fazlu age 25 years multiple head injury attacked by sharp weapon. Breathing through oxygen mask. Both of above two victims were not in position to talk.
3.Kalu Khan not available on bed as he went inside for operation but serious condition.
4.Hameeda age 75 years multiple head injury admitted in Bangerd ward serious.
5.Asmeena w/o Imran in Burn ward serious.
6. Shabbir age 35 years also in burn ward serious
List of those missing ( this we got from two villages- list could be longer):
1. Zakir s/o Abdul
2. Mubarim s/o Mohammad (Ladlaka)
3. Isa s/o Rahmat (Kheda)
4. Irfan s/o Shafi
5. Khursheed s/o Hajriya
6. Iqbal s/o unknown
DEMANDS:
1. CONSTITUTE A CBI ENQUIRY WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT
2. SUSPEND THE SP, DYSP, CO,
3. TRANSFER THE COLLECTOR
4. REMOVAL OF STF IMMEDIATELY
5. DEPLOYMENT OF PARAMILITARY FORCES
6. ALL PARTY DELEGATION TO VISIT GOPALGARH AND ADJOINING VILLAGES
7. 10 LAKH COMPENSATION FOR THE FAMILIES OF THE DECEASED AND TWO LAKHS FOR INJURED
8. IMMEDIATE ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND APPROPRIATE COMPENSATION/REHABILITATION MEASURES TO BE TAKEN
9. POLICE REFORMS/ DE-COMMUNALISATION OF POLICE FORCE
10. MEASURES IN 12TH FIVE YEAR PLAN TO ENSURE SECURITY OF MINORITIES, DETOXIFICATION OF ALL GOVERNMENT MACHINERY, POLICE, BUREAUCRACY, ACTIVELY FIGHT THE MINDSETS WHICH BREED HATRED AGAINST MINORITIES, DALITS AND THE POOR.
11. ACTIVELY FIGHT THE MINDSET WHICH BREED HATRED AGAINST DALIT, MINORITITES A
12. IMMEDIATE PASSAGE OF PREVENSION OF COMMUNAL VIOLENCE BILL AFTER NECESSARY AMMENDMENTS
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