Tuesday, May 8, 2012

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Where is CBI enquiry? Vattoli massacre victims ask govt, Muslim leadership

Submitted by admin7 on 7 May 2012 - 4:48pm
Part One
By Mohd. Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad: It has been nearly 3 ½ years since the deadly riots in Bhainsa town in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh, in which four Muslims were killed and in Vattoli village of the same district a whole Muslim family of 6 persons including three children were burned alive. The horrific and brutal incident shocked the state and the nation.
When the news about the burning of a Muslim family appeared in media, the state government, in damage control effort, said the family was burned by shock circuit in the house. But later when the bodies were found in decapitated state, like Mahbub Khan, head of the family, whose leg was cut down and found in some other room, her wife’s bones were fractured and clothes were found stuffed in her daughter’s mouth, it was clear they were first murdered then burned alive.

The Muslim leadership in the state got up against the Congress government of AP along with the relatives of the victims, they demanded fair and free enquiry from CBI because they felt the local police is biased. Even the National Commission for Minorities, after investigating the incident, recommended in its report to the then Chief Minster late Y.S. Rajshekar Reddy for an impartial CBI enquiry. Fearing electoral consequences, state home minister K. Jana Reddy and chief minster announced CBI enquiry into that horrendous case, and for that same purpose a G.O.Ms.NO.211 on 16-10-2008 was issued.
But 3 years and 7 months have since passed CBI enquiry has not started in this case. What the victims got is probe from local police in the name of CB CID. The discrepancies in the probe of CB CID are visible from the fact that the district court in which this case is going on rejected the charge sheet filed by CB CID as it was full of errors. It took them more than two years to file fresh charge sheet in the court which gave ample opportunity to all the arrested members of Hindu Vahini to get out on bail. The relatives of the deceased persons are also alleging that CB CID has prepared their case in such a way that all the accused will get benefit of doubt in the court.
We want justice, not compensation
Mumtaz Khan, brother of deceased Mahbub Khan told TCN that he lost faith in Indian institutions. “First of all investigation is going in wrong directions, CB CID is not arresting real culprits and conspirators, they have just arrested petty criminals, CB CID is conducting a lousy investigation, almost all the police officers in the investigative team are locals, they are working under pressure to build up a case to let the accused go scot free. Even those arrested persons are now walking free as they got bail in 90 days as CB CID failed to submit charge sheet within that period,” he said.

Sharing his deep pain Mumtaz Khan said: “me and my family who is fighting for justice is feeling alone, why no human rights organization is raising our issue. Will the response of human rights groups will be same if dalit or Hindu family is burned alive. I was an activist of STU, a leftist teacher organization. Vattoli village is a bastion of CPIML (new democracy) but they still deserted us, I strongly feel we have been left alone just because we are Muslims.”
He then added “I remember when I went to meet the then DGP S.P Yadav along with a Muslim MP, I told the DGP we want fair enquiry by CBI, as we want culprits behind bars. The DGP replied to me on my face that ‘what will you get by CBI enquiry? Accept what government is giving you, take compensation and the govt job; don’t get sensitive’. Government is trying to shut our mouth by providing compensation and job, but we are not going to sit down, we want justice.”
He even takes dig at Muslim leadership. “Muslim leaders at the time of incident used our victimhood to gain votes, now they have compromised with Congress, they have sold themselves,” says Khan.
Anwar Khan, son of Mahbub Khan lost all his family in the wave of hatred -- his mother, father, sister and three nephews were tortured, murdered and burned down mercilessly. Anwar is solider in Indo-Tibetan Border Force. When on 12th October 2008 he was protecting the borders of the nation there was no one not even the government to protect his loved ones back home.
Anwar Khan was protecting borders when his family was burnt alive
Anwar spoke to TCN on phone from Arunachal Pradesh where he is currently posted. He said, “CB CID is not taking many crucial evidence into consideration, like my sister’s cell phone and my father’s cell phone were never found on the site, neither the investigative agency tried to trace them. My whole family was first murdered brutally and then burned alive as my father’s leg was found in another place, my mother’s bones were found fractured, my sister’s hands were tied and clothes were stuffed into her mouth, all the dead bodies were found in one room and all the items of the house were put on their dead bodies. But CB CID is not taking any of these things into consideration and working with the theory that the house was torched by miscreants from outside by pouring kerosene oil on the door.”
He added that “CB CID is working under pressure from local right wing Hindu groups, they have not taken proper testimony from neighbors, they are calling crucial witnesses to give testimony in front of all villagers and on the other hand they are calling the accused in hotels to get their statements.”
Muslim leaders forgot the incident
Anwar Khan is also angry with Muslim leaders and terms them responsible for the mess up of their case. “Muslim leadership pledged full support to us at the time of incident, suddenly they changed their policy and deserted us, and they used us and exploited our case for their own electoral gains. Muslim leaders asserted monopoly on our case; when I saw Muslim leaders deserting us, I contacted TDP leaders in Adilabad district to raise the question in assembly and I succeeded. When Chandra Babu Naidu raised the question in the assembly about awful probe in our case Congress was unable to give any answer then MIM leaders disrupted the whole assembly and debate, thus our chance to get answer from government was lost due to some Muslim leaders.”

TCN spoke to MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi about the backtrack of the government on its promise of CBI enquiry. He said, “Three years have passed, what we can do now, we have to accept what government has provided.” On the complaints of victim family members that Muslim leadership has failed he said, “we have done our best, we had done whatever we could do at that time, it was up to the government to fulfill its promise. If Congress is backtracking from its promise of CBI enquiry then they will have to pay electoral consequences.”
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) is an umbrella group of different Muslim political and social organizations of Andhra Pradesh. At the time of massacre it was in the fore front in demanding CBI enquiry and putting pressure on government. TCN spoke to Maulana Abdul Raheem Qureshi, secretary of MMA, who is also general secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board. On the matter of government backtrack on the promise of CBI enquiry he said, “The present and even the previous Congress governments are all communal in nature, they are promoting Hindutva and even they are trying to protect them. In these circumstances you cannot expect this government to do justice to Muslims.”
On the allegation of Muslim leaders selling themselves to Congress he replied, “We at the time of incident met chief minister, he sent two Addtl DGPs to pursue the case, and even promised a CBI enquiry. But later when we tried to get contact with him he ignored us and didn’t give us time, and later not only Muslim leadership but whole Muslim community of AP forgot the case. So here every Muslim including Muslim media is to be blamed for the mess.”
Mumtaz Khan said, “We believe in Allah and one day inshaallah he will provide us justice.”
Anwar Khan said, “This nation has deserted me, I as a solider on the cold mountain regions am protecting day and night the boundaries of this country, and for this service in return what I got is murder of my loved ones and no justice in the end.”