(My son was reading Kalima, Police thought he was abusing them. They started dancing on his semi dead body. They did no allow us to near him). The seen has been shown on few TV channel.
This heart-rending story was narrated by the sobbing mother of Mustafa Ansari (18) who was killed in unprovoked police firing at Bhajanpura village in Forbesganj block of Araria district of Bihar on June 3.
At a crowded press conference here on Saturday, the victims of the police firing have narrated police brutalities and highhandedness inflicted on the hapless villagers. Mustafa’s mother Taheran Khatoon said her son had nothing to do with the agitation, he was coming back to home from his ‘paan’ shop, and police shot him point-blank on his head.
Other victim’s mother Ameena Khatoon said his son was hit by four bullets, one on his head. The victims said they were confined into their homes for more than four days.
Noted filmmaker and activist Mahesh Bhatt, who visited affected village along with Shabnam Hashmi of ANHAD, said they brought the victims to Delhi to bring truths before the country.
Coming down heavily on the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Bhatt said he tried to contact him for full day but failed to get any response from the CM.
On a question, he lamented that a section of the media did not give due attention to gory firing incident as these people did not figure in the consumer class.
He warned that if police turn communal then the country would not survive. “It is a question of human injustices and indignity, so guilty should be brought to justice’, he said.
Local Congress leader Owais Yasin said the Police and the local administration have been making pressure on the victims not to file any cases against the police officers particularly against Garima Malik who is the SP of the area.
He said they have filed cases under the section 302, 307, 148 of IPC. He said police have also registered FIR against 4,000 unknown persons but due to public pressure they did not dare to arrest any person.
ANHAD’s Shabnam Hashmi, who led the fact finding team to the Forbesganj, has alleged that the CM is under pressure of the BJP and he has shown complete disregard to the victims. She said the fact- finding team was informed by several villagers that on May 29, 2011 Sushil Modi, Deputy CM and BJP, MLA had come to Forbesganj and had pressurized the administration to take immediate action regarding the village road and block it.
The villagers also told us that in the past few months the activities of right wing organizations had increased in and around Forbesganj.
Ashok Aggarwal was heard saying, “inko pinjre mai band kar denge. Jail bana denge salon ke gaon ko.” she said. She also alleged that that many eye witnesses told the team that apart from the police, Ashok Agarwal himself fired at people.
The police while chasing the people entered the village and killed a women and an infant point blank. Five people including one woman and a six-month-old infant and an unborn baby were killed and 9 others injured.
The victims demanded to probe into role of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi in the whole incident and immediate dismissal of SP, SDO and all other senior police, administrative officers present on the spot at the time firing was ordered and arrest of Ashok Agarwal for firing at people. They wanted tnquiry into his role in the whole incident, the built up and firing. They also asked compensation of 10 lakhs to the families of those killed and one lakh to the injured.
Calling the announcement of judicial inquiry by the CM as a farce, Bhiar Congress Shakil Ahmad said neither terms of reference nor the name of judge was announced till date. When asked why Rahul Gandhi did not visit the Forbesganj, he said he was not representing Congress party here.
Earlier, the victims called on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and briefed her sufferings. They will also visit the national Commission for Minorities and NCHR on Monday.
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