Arson, Loot and 'Unidentified' Vandals: How Muslims Were Targeted in Bahraich

New Delhi: Enraged by the death of a Hindu youth Ram Gopal Mishra in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich, rioting mobs unleashed a wave of violence against Muslims and torched and vandalised their homes, shops, bikes, tractors and cars. They also looted mundane household possessions such as gas cylinders, food grains and goats, according to almost a dozen criminal cases seen by The Wire. Muslims and their properties were targeted in both rural and urban pockets of at least two police station areas of Bahraich during the communal violence.

The mob violence broke out after the initial communal flare-up on October 13 in Bahraich’s Mahasi area during the annual procession for the immersion of Durga idols.

After the killing of Mishra due to a gunshot injury, moments after he had climbed atop a Muslim house and broken their railing while uprooting an Islamic flag and replacing it with a saffron one carrying the name of Ram, multiple mobs started targeting Muslims and their property in the area. These incidents of wanton violence took place on October 13 as well as the following day when Mishra’s body was being taken for cremation.

While the Bahraich police says it has lodged 14 FIRs in the entire matter – from the initial flare-up in the Muslim locality to Mishra’s killing and the arson and vandalism against Muslims – we accessed 11 of these FIRs. Eight are linked to the incidents of arson and violence against Muslims, while the other two are about a Hindu youth, Sudhakar Tiwari, who was injured in the initial disturbance and the looting and arson at Saroj Kumar Tripathi’s public convenience store. One FIR was also lodged by the sitting BJP MLA from Mahasi Sureshwar Singh for an attack on his car when he was engaging with locals who were protesting against Mishra’s killing.

Cops lodged 5 of 7 FIRs against Muslims

Five out of the seven FIRs lodged in cases of violence against Muslims were lodged by police officers, and in each of these cases, the police said that the arson and vandalism left behind an atmosphere of “chaos and terror.” All cases of rioting and vandalism seen by The Wire were lodged against unidentified persons or large mobs. The vandals were armed with lathis, iron roads, clubs, spears and other sharp objects and carried glass bottles filled with flammable material and petrol.

Maharajganj bazar, Chandpara and Chandpara Jot villages, Razi crossing, Mahasi block Kasba and Sadhuwapur village were among the affected areas. The violence erupted after some local Muslims objected to the playing of loud music – other versions say, the music was also vulgar – in the Durga idol procession that was passing by their door in Maharajganj area on October 13. This led to a dispute, and according to police, a tense situation was created after groups from both communities came face to face.

According to some accounts and police, it is alleged that some local Muslims pelted stones at the Durga idol procession after the initial heated discussion over the mounted DJ accompanying the procession. Before his death, Mishra was seen atop a Muslim house, where he uprooted a railing while removing a green-coloured Islamic flag and waved a saffron flag of Hindu god Ram, to loud cheers of “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Bajrang Bali” by his associates gathered near the house.

While the actual circumstances leading to Mishra’s killing are still unclear, the vandalism and arson following it played out in full view, as mobs armed with lathis, rods and other sharp objects started targeting Muslims with impunity, as the administration failed to bring things under control and senior officers from Lucknow were dispatched to Bahraich to check the violence.

Goats, gas cylinder stolen

Three separate FIRs were lodged in connection with the violence in Chandpara village on the complaint of three Muslim women, Kadruna, Begma and Sharif-un-Nisa. In each case, the accused were unidentified. In her FIR, Kadruna said that the mob vandalised her house and set ablaze “valuable items,” which were “reduced to ashes.” The miscreants also assaulted her family and threatened them, said Kadruna.

Begma, another Muslim woman, said that in addition to assaulting them and torching their valuables and a motorcycle, the mob also walked off with two goats – a male and a female – and a gas cylinder. “We somehow managed to save our lives and escaped,” she said in the FIR, lodged against unknown persons.

Sharif-un-Nisa said that the mob assaulted her family, torched her house along with valuable items, which were reduced to ashes. They also vandalised a cart, water tank and pipes, she said.

Four FIRs were lodged by police officers against 500-750 persons at Hardi police station while another was lodged in the Kotwali Nagar police station against an undefined mob.

Set fire to homes and shops

At Kasba Maharajganj bazar, the mob vandalised and torched a motorcycle showroom, damaging the bikes kept there, said sub-inspector Gopal Kanojia in his FIR that was lodged against 150-200 persons. The violence here took place between 12 pm to 3 pm on October 14.

Also read: As UP Admin Threatens to Bulldoze Primarily Muslim Property in Bahraich, HC Offers Temporary Relief

Recording details, SI Kanojia said that a Renault Kwid SUV parked outside the house of Haji Hasan was set ablaze; Zubair’s Kia Sonet SUV was also torched; a pickup van and shop opposite Dilshad’s house were looted and Monu’s grill shutter store was broken into, vandalised and items stolen. “In a similar way, the unruly elements carried out acts of vandalism, arson and loot in many other shops and homes in the kasba,” said SI Kanojia.

“They vandalised and set ablaze vehicles parked on the side of the roads outside shops and homes and damaged the shops and items belonging to those living in the bazar. While setting fire to people’s homes and shops, they looted the items kept there and spread terror by pelting stones and bricks at people’s houses and vehicles, which created a sense of chaos and terror among residents and locals,”said the officer.

An FIR was lodged on the complaint of sub-inspector Vinod Kumar against 100-150 unknown persons for the violence at Kasba Mahasi block and Razi Chauraha, where the privately-owned Lucknow Seva Hospital was vandalised and torched. These incidents took place between 1 pm to 3.30 pm on October 14.

SI Kumar said that the mob also looted and then set ablaze shops and houses of Mikail, Raju, Meraj, Sablu and Meraj and many others.

Tractor set on fire, tap broken, grains stolen

An FIR was lodged on the complaint of sub-inspector Aas Mohammad against 100-200 unidentified persons for the violence and vandalism in Jot Chandpara. Hasan Mohammad and Imran Ahmad’s tractors and bikes were torched, Irfan’s SUV was also set on fire and Riyaz’s motorcycle and house were vandalised. They looted rice, wheat grains, gas cylinders and other daily essential items from local homes, said SI Mohammad.

The SI further noted that in Kabdiyanpurva, the homes of Jamil, Meraj and Wajid were looted before being set on fire. A similar tragedy hit Salamuddin, Ravat Ali and Rehmat Ali in Dade Purwa village. An e-rickshaw parked outside Ajmeri’s house was torched as was his house.

In all four FIRs lodged by the police, mentioned in this story, the police said that when they tried to disperse the mobs, the miscreants pelted stones at the police. The FIRs invoked charges of rioting, rioting with deadly weapon, unlawful assembly, use of explosive substance or fire with the knowledge that it will case the destruction of a place of worship or human dwelling, assault, voluntary hurt to a public servant in the discharge of his or her duty, robbery and other sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.

An FIR was lodged on the complaint of SI Chote Lal against 150-200 unidentified persons for the violence and vandalism in Sadhuwapur. The rioters set ablaze a tractor outside Shamshad Master’s house and looted his house. Ten quintals of wood logs outside Arif’s house were torched, while a shop outside Guddu’s house was looted, vandalised and then set on fire. A Sonalika brand tractor outside Karim’s house was torched and his house vandalised. The tap in Bablu’s house was broken, while rice, wheat, other food items and goats were stolen from other homes. Due to the violence, the local market was forced to shut, said SI Lal.

Also read: As UP Admin Threatens to Bulldoze Primarily Muslim Property in Bahraich, HC Offers Temporary Relief

On October 15, police officer Dinesh Kumar Pandey, the SHO of Kotwali Nagar police station, lodged an FIR against an “anti-social riotous mob” for vandalising Muslim shops and targeted the police forces with stones and lathis.

Pandey said that following Mishra’s death in Maharajganj, the Durga idol processions that were concluding peacefully in the city area were also halted. After this, some anti-social elements formed a mob and started pelting stones at the police in-charge of picket and created a jam on the roads, said the officer.

‘Took away Rs 90,000’

In the Steelganj Market in Bahraich, the mob vandalised the shops of Noor Moazzam, Abdul Majid and Mohammad Salim, and torched a bike parked outside.

Near the district hospital, the mob also set on fire the shops owned by Shadab, Nizam and Nasim.

“This created chaos in the entire city area and people started to run helter-skelter in panic. People started running to save themselves and shopkeepers started shutting their shops to flee from there,” said Pandey.

The miscreants also pelted stones at the police, blocked roads and vandalised property near the district hospital, post-mortem house, Chaya Kuan and Gudari Bazar areas, said the police officer.

Another FIR was lodged on the complaint of one Gopinath Tiwari after his son Sudharkar Tiwari was injured in the violence in Maharajganj on October 13. No accused was named in his complaint. Tiwari said his son was participating in the idol immersion when some unknown persons emerged from near a mosque in Maharajganj and attacked Sudhakar, who was seriously injured. Sudhakar was taken to the local hospital in Mahasi but referred to the district hospital in Bahraich from where he was further referred for treatment in Lucknow.

An FIR was also lodged on October 21 on the complaint of Joy Chandpara resident Saroj Kumar Tripathi, whose store Tripathi Jan Suvidha Kendra was vandalised by around 15 unidentified persons at 5:30 pm on October 13. They also took away Rs 90,000 kept in the cash box, said Tripathi.

The miscreants, whom Tripathi does not identify, also tried to rob his motorbike and when he resisted, thrashed him with lathis and dandas and torched the vehicle. Tripathi came back home to Bahraich only on the night of October 19 after spending several days in a hospital in Lucknow.

‘Both sides’ and bias

On October 19, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Zia-ur-Rehman Barq in a social media post accused the police of bias and said that those who indulged in arson and violence were not being arrested while action was being taken against the Muslim side. In a reply to him, Bahraich police said that cases had been registered in connection with the criminal acts committed by “both sides.”

A total of 14 cases have been registered regarding the violence in Bahraich in which legal action is underway against people of all religions, said police. Bahraich police is committed to impartial action,” the district police said on Sunday.

So far, police have arrested more than 90 persons, said a report in the Times of India. This includes the Muslims accused in the murder of Ram Gopal Mishra and the initial allegations of pelting stones at the Durga idol procession. On Thursday, the police shot in the leg two persons accused of killing Mishra,

Mohammad Sarfaraz and Mohammad Taleem, who were arrested with three others after they allegedly fired at the police while being taken to retrieve the murder weapon, a double barrel breech loading shotgun, hidden at a location in Nanpara near the Indo-Nepal border.

On October 18, BJP MLA from Mahasi constituency Sureshwar Singh also got an FIR lodged against seven persons for allegedly attacking his car and damaging the windshield when he was accompanying a crowd of people on their way to the mortuary with Ram Gopal Mishra’s body on October 13. The crowd was protesting with the body of Mishra placed near the gate of the Bahraich Medical College when Singh reached there.

He named Arpit Srivastava, Anuj Singh Raikwar, Shubham Mishra, Kushmendra Chaudhary, Manish Chandra Shukla, Pundreek Pandey, Sudhanshu Singh Rana and other unknown miscreants in his FIR.

Note: In an earlier version of this report, one of the images of the featured collage at the top had been of the Bahraich demolitions and not the communal violence. This error has been rectified since publication.