Atrocities in Sarangpur (Madhya Pradesh)

Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, President, AIMMM, sent the following letter today, 27 March 2008, demanding urgent action to stop the atrocities against Muslims in Madhya Pradesh’s town of Sarangpur:

1. Hon’ble Smt. Pratibha Patil, President of India
2. Hon’ble Shri Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India
3. Hon’ble Dr
   Manmohan Singh, Prime Minster of India
4.  Hon’ble Shri Shivraj Patil, Union Home Minister
5.  Hon’ble Shri AR Antulay, Union Minister for Minority Affairs
6. Hon’ble Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
7. Hon’ble Shri Himmat Kothari, Minister for Home Affairs, Madhya Pradesh
8.  Hon’ble Shri Shafi Qureshi, Chairman, National Commission for Minorities
9.  Hon’ble Mr. Justice S. Rajendra Babu, Chairperson, National Human Rights

 

“I am writing to you with deep distress that the Muslim minority community at Sarangpur town/Tehsil in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh is right now reeling under communal and local police administration reign of terror. According to information I have received this morning from this town of 40,000 inhabitants, it all started yesterday afternoon (26 March 2008) when at around 3.30 pm a violent crowd of around 250 persons went around throwing colours on people, shops and houses including the Jama Masjid, the main mosque of the town. When Muslims objected, the crowd threw stones at the Jama Masjid. The crowd from the local akhara was armed with swords, lathis, trishuls etc. It was led by Mr Lalit Paliwal, chairman of the Sarang Nagar Palika (municipality). All this happened in the presence of a police force led by an additional superintendent of Police which chose not to intervene in any way. Section 144 (curfew) was imposed in the Muslim areas after this incident.

 

“In the evening, at around 7-8 pm, a police force came to the Muslim locality and picked up some 12 young Muslim boys and put them in the lock up. When their relatives went to the police station to plead for their release, they too were arrested and put behind bars. In the same night at around 1 am, a crowd, again led by Mr Lalit Paliwal, came to the Muslim locality along with a bulldozer. They looted and then smashed four houses and 12 shops using the bulldozer.

 

“The local police station, led by Thana In-charge Mr Rakesh Shukla, has refused to register FIRs or take any action against the criminals who were responsible for the attack on the Jama Masjid, Muslims and later destruction of their houses and shops. Curfew remains in force only in Muslim areas.

 

“Your urgent intervention is required to (a) stop this injustice and lift the curfew, (b) arrest and try the culprits, (c) set free the innocent persons picked up in an illegal show of force against a hapless minority community, and (d) pay the owners of the demolished houses and shops proper compensation so that they can rebuild/repair them and resume normal life.”

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