A DELEGATION of CPI(M) comprising Sehba Farooqui, Asha Sharma and Maimoona Mollah visited the family of the victims of the recent violence in Delhi in the name of gau raksha in Prem Nagar phase II (West Delhi) on September 16. This happened two days after Bakrid when Qari Luqman’s son-in-law was taking the waste for disposal. (Qari Luqman runs a madrasa called Madrasa Rehmania in Prem Nagar.)  The people of the area seemed terror-stricken. Qari – in deep shock – told the delegation that this is a peaceful area and there is no history of communal tension but there are a number of miscreants (Jaibir, Virender and Suman Thakur) who try to spoil Bakrid festivities every year. Therefore, they were extra careful this time – obtained prior police permission for Qurbani, made a video of the Qurbani, and made sure the meat was well-covered during distribution.

It was when they finally arranged for disposing the waste that the trouble began. After the tempo carting the waste left Prem Nagar, another vehicle followed them – the three miscreants had informed the Gau raksha Samiti folks to ‘be prepared’. The two (groups) coordinated with each other and nabbed the tempo carrying the buffalo waste and lynched the driver, Ali Hasan and Qari’s son-in-law, Hafiz Abdul Khaliq who teaches at the madrasa run by Qari. The third person in the tempo – a child of about 14 years was able to escape because the mob could not recognise him as a ‘Muslim’, because he was wearing a t-shirt and trousers.  He is the sole eye-witness of the incident. The child has since been in trauma.  It was reported to the delegation that there was one police constable present at the site of the crime but he did not intervene. The delegation also visited the hospital; both the victims are in ICU, one of them has had brain damage and the other was also in semi-conscious state. 

The police did register an FIR and have arrested three persons but the main conspirators are at large. The FIR does not even mention their names nor does it talk about the conspiracy angle. What is reprehensible is that an additional SHO chided Qari for having sacrificed ‘big’ animals.

The family had to shift the injured to a private hospital (Ganapati Hospital near Mundka) because they were not attended to in the government hospital (Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital). Thus they are having to incur huge amounts of money for the treatment.

The delegation demands that

·        Adequate security be provided to the victims in the hospital as also the family.

·        Law and order should be maintained in the area and it should be ensured that no untoward incident takes place.

·        Action be taken against the police person, who was present at the site but did not intervene, for dereliction of duty.

·        Medical expenses of the injured should be borne by the government.

·        Adequate compensation should be provided to the victims.