In conversation with M. D Zahid Falahi (Association for Protection of Civil Rights)
What is the condition now after the demolition of several properties in a few districts of Haryana?
The demolitions are now stopped after the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the process after taking Suo Motu cognizance of the issue. Before this 100-150 shops were demolished and 15-20 houses were demolished. This included buildings which were 3-4 storeys also. These demolitions were done by the authorities claiming that these buildings were used for pelting stones on the yatra which turned violent. Shops of roadside vendors were also destroyed. These were vendors who were doing business in the same area from the past 10-15 years. These vendors have had to face huge losses due to these demolitions. The authorities claim that we had given 3 months prior notice but nothing of this kind has been done or served. There were some shops which were on Panchayat Land but these shops have been running and the vendors are earning their livelihood from these shops from the past 15-20 years without any kind of hindrance. Demolition means that their source of livelihood has been destroyed. The vendors were not given an opportunity to even clear off their goods. Curfew is imposed from last week, no one has come out. The authorities arbitrarily destroyed all the buildings and shops without any kind of notice or at least a warning.
The Police is barging into villages with 200 Buses and other vehicles at 4 in the morning and detaining children aged 15-17. The villagers are fear struck. Not only the children but even the elders are in fear. In this situation, no one had the courage to go to their shops and during this time the authorities passed backdated notices on the shops and destroyed them. No kind of notice was given to any person.
What will be the legal remedy available to these victims now?
The APCR team is in constant touch with these villagers and building owners who have lost their properties and we have assured them of all kinds of support from our side. But the people are not showing the courage to come forward and file any kind of application or complaint. They are not even ready to go to the police station because there have been cases wherein people who went to the police station to make a complaint were themselves detained by the police. Legally we are trying to obtain compensation for those who have lost their properties due to the arbitrary action of the authorities to demolish the properties. Such an action was not at all just, fair, and reasonable. Most of the detained are minors. You can arrest those who were involved in violence but you are arresting 10-12 years old children, this is completely unreasonable. Third-degree torture is being meted out on those who are detained. When our team went to visit them we saw that they were not even able to stand on their feet. They were not even able to raise their hands. They were filled into a jail cell just like animals without any kind of relief. We are making a strategy to counter these actions legally.
What is the reason behind the violence?
The violence broke out this year for two reasons. This Yatra has been happening for 3 years without any kind of violence but this year two miscreants named Montu Manesar who calls himself a gau rakshak and Bittu Bajrangi shared videos of inciting violence in social media. It was due to these videos that violence spread this time. The ones who had come to attend the yatra were holding with their swords and AK47 rifles. They themselves started the commotion by throwing stones, the Muslims got involved when they were injured in these acts. They incited the Muslims and this was when Muslims showed some kind of reaction.
In the media we might have seen a person shooting using an AK47 rifle from within a temple, this person claims that he is licensed to use AK47. AK47 is a weapon that is permitted to soldiers only, for a common man a rifle or smaller guns only are allowed for self-defense. These are the factors that led to the violence in Haryana. Keeping all these things in mind we are trying to find a solution.
Is the mainstream media giving appropriate coverage to the real issues?
The media is not giving coverage where it is most needed. The ground reality is not being shown. The media is only showing those areas where demolition has taken place but not those villages where detentions have been made. The police are detaining anyone it feels like. Even those children who were returning after giving the SAT exam were detained, migrant laborers who were trying to escape were detained.
Is the violence still ongoing or stopped?
The situation has now started normalizing. The people are fear struck. This could be clearly seen by the strength of the people during Jummah Namaz last Friday. This is because people were scared of detentions. The police are not arresting those who spread the violence. They are not even registering FIRs in spite of complaints being filed. The right-wing groups are even trying to further violence by trying to throw beef in front of the temple themselves but this attempt failed as the Muslims were able to stop them. Numerous Masjids have been attacked in Nuh but no arrests of those who were a part of the yatra were made.
