New Delhi: On September 8 (Sunday), the Surat Police detained 33 Muslim males — six of them minors — who were allegedly involved in disrupting peace by pelting stones at a Ganapati pandal in the city’s Variavi Bazar.
Following the arrests, communal tensions erupted in the neighbouring Saiyedpura area last Sunday after a mob of around 200-300 locals gathered near Lal Gate police station and started pelting stones. The protest was sparked by the detention of the six minors.
The situation quickly escalated, with the mob allegedly attacking the police and causing widespread damage to vehicles nearby. In response, the police launched a swift crackdown, detaining those allegedly involved in the incident.
But then, local residents told The Wire, the police did something unexpected.
“They posted a before and after video. It begins with a photo of an idol of Ganesha, then shows the Muslim men being bundled into police vehicles. Then later, it shows them walking out of the police vehicles, limping, hurt and barefoot,” a local Muslim said.
This video posted on X by the Surat City Police shows the accused struggling to walk after being in custody, visibly suggesting severe physical abuse. The alleged mistreatment appears to be in response to the outrage caused by the mob that attacked the police station.
સુરતના વરિયાવી બજારમાં શ્રીજીની પ્રતિમા પર કાંકરી ચાળો કરી શહેર ની શાંતિ ભંગ કરનાર ને પોલીસે ઝડપી કાયદા નું ભાન કરાવ્યું.#સુરત_શહેર_પોલીસ_તમારી_સાથે_તમારા_માટે pic.twitter.com/m7mdYzHvDf
— Surat City Police (@CP_SuratCity) September 9, 2024
‘Made scapegoats’
Abdul Mansuri, a local who witnessed the incident recalled how upon complaints made by Hindus in the area, the police swiftly began breaking locks and banging doors around 10 pm to whisk away Muslim men away from their home. Mansuri, who runs a cloth shop in the area said that the police appeared to be on a mission to somehow catch anyone due to public outrage.
“They came late in the night, woke up my relative Sheikh Junaid Wahab and took him away. He had been at his shop the whole day. But the police were determined to take someone or the other with them,” Mansuri told The Wire.
Another local Muslim, Shafi-Ud-Din said that his relative Saqib Dadhiwala was randomly taken away by the police, even when Saqib was out of Surat the entire day and had only returned around 8.30 pm.
“They were hellbent on putting blame on someone, they just wanted scapegoats in their custody to pin the crime of stone pelting on them. They are still in police custody,” Shafi-Ud-Din told The Wire.
Advocate Zeba Pathan, who is representing Junaid’s case, said that the incident was a minor one and was blown out of proportion for political mileage by persons with vested interests.
Mujahid Nafees, convener, minority coordination committee, Gujarat has written to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) about the excessive use of force on the accused. Nafees told The Wire that it was vital that the officers responsible for the alleged abuse be identified and held accountable.
“They are bound by the Code of Criminal Procedure and possess no authority to inflict harm or intimidate individuals. The video evidence clearly indicates no resistance was shown during the arrests, and the use of force appears solely intended to demean individuals from a minority community,” he said.
Demolitions and democracy
Recently, in a strong observation against “bulldozer justice”, the Supreme Court had said that in a country where actions of the state are governed by the rule of law, the transgression by a family member cannot lead to demolition of their legally constructed house or it would be equivalent to running bulldozer over the laws.
This observation was made in response to a plea by Javedali Mahebubmiya Saiyed, who expressed his apprehension over threats issued for demolition of his house as an FIR was registered against one of his family members on September 1. Saiyed, who is co-owner of the house, moved the court to protect his rights over his land. The court directed status quo in respect of the petitioner’s property by all concerned.
While the court issued notice to the Gujarat government against the petitioner’s apprehension, “bulldozer justice” seems to be the first response in the state by authorities.
On September 9, local authorities carried out a demolition drive, razing illegal buildings and temporary structures, in the same area of Saiyedpura, that saw mob violence following alleged stone pelting in a Ganesh pandal. Though Surat’s deputy mayor Narendra Patil said that the drive was pre-planned to raze illegal concrete and temporary structures and remove handcarts of street vendors and temporary roadside shops in the area, locals believe that it was very much linked to the incident that unfolded the day before.
Bulldozers used to raze houses in Saiyedpura area in Surat. Photo: Arranged by the author.
One of the shacks that was razed belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minority cell leader, Mohsin Mirza’s relative Shauqat Mirza, who had rented out the shack to an eatery business. The Wire made several attempts to reach out to them both, however, they were unavailable.
Post the incident, police commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot and Gujarat’s junior home minister Harsh Sanghavi visited the area late at night. After taking stock of the situation and the suspects, the minister said those who try to disturb peace in the city will face serious action.
Aslam Cyclewala, former councillor, Surat Municipal Corporation told The Wire that he believed that this was not a pre-planned demolition drive that happened and was a result of the stone pelting.
“This area, Saiyedpura has had shacks for 25 years now. The SMC suddenly realised it had to raze settlements and encroachments in the area, right after the day when a Hindu-Muslim flare up happened. The BJP has been in majority in the state for two decades but they chose a very particular day to tear down the livelihoods of the poor, majority of whom are Muslims,” Cyclewala explained.
