On December 3, 2018, Police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh (44) was killed in mob violence, that erupted near the Chingrawathi police post allegedly after cattle carcasses were found strewn near Mahaw village where lakhs of people had gathered for a ‘Tabligi Ijtema’ .

An FIR against 27 named people and 50 to 60 unidentified people was registered at the Siyana Police Station.

Two years after that incident, Shikar Agarwal, the key accused in the Bulandshahr violence and murder of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh,has been awarded with a plum project. He will now be in charge of running and publicising the PM Welfare Scheme campaign in Bulandshahr, say news reports. Aggarwal, who is out on bail, was recently felicitated and appointed for the key campaign by BJP district president.  According to a report in. NEWS18.COM a letter announcing appointment of Agarwal as Bulandshahr District Mahamantri along with pictures of are now viral on social media. “The letter allegedly written by Priyatam Kumar (Prem), District Chief Bulandshahr, are dated July 14 and say as per the directives of Western Uttar Pradesh Chief Yatendra Kumar Jain, Agarwal has been appointed as the Mahamantri for the campaign,” stated the news report.

It had in fact taken the police more than a month to nab Agarwal in 2019, even though the latter had been uploading his videos on social media claiming innocence in addition to giving interviews on TV channels. In those vidoes Agarwal had blamed officer Subodh Kumar Singh for the violence. After he, and some other accused, got bail, they got  a massive welcome reception. 

Sabrangindia’s exclusive investigation had revealed how ‘social media’ had been used to plot the killing. Videos of the accused being released emerged on Facebook and social media which showed the crowd chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ while welcoming Shikhar Agarwal and other accused with garlands and flowers. People were seen hugging the accused as they left the jail premises. Agarwal, who headed the BJP’s local Yuva Morcha and posted the ‘welcome video’ online when he along with Yogesh Raj, another accused, while in hiding, were received by jubilant supporters outside the prison. 

The accused, Rajiv, Rohit, Raghav, Shikhar Agarwal, Jitendra Malik, Rajkumar and Sourav allegedly attempted murder, rioted and committed arson during the protests against cow slaughter on December 3, 2018. Events that had led to the death of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh. 

After the accused were granted bail, Subodh Kumar’s wife Rajni Singh had said that the government should kill her if they can’t imprison the criminals. 

“Bail was not possible in this case. I am very upset with the justice system. What is happening is very wrong. I want to appeal to the government, kill me if you cannot punish the criminals then get me killed! Then there will be nobody to question the government and the government will not have to answer to anybody!” Ms Singh had then told the media.

The gruesome killing of Subodh Kumar Singh had elicited a sharp response across India. Former civil servants had even demanded the resignation of UP CM Adityanath.

“The mob violence in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh (U.P), on December 3, 2018, instigated and engineered with malicious intent,which led to the cold blooded murder of a police officer brave enough to step forward single-handedly to pacify the mob, marks the most dangerous turn yet in the direction taken by the politics of hate in recent times. It shows that in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, fundamental principles of governance, of constitutional ethics and of humane social conduct stand perverted. The Chief Minister of the state acts as a high priest of the agenda of bigotry and majoritarian supremacy – an agenda which now seems to take precedence over everything else,” it had been stated.

Related:
 

Kill me if Govt can’t imprison Criminals: Widow of Bulandshahr Cop, Subodh Kumar
Bulandshahr Violence: This is how cow vigilantes hatched the plot to kill a policemanRewarded with Bail, Seven Accused of Bulandshahr violence get Hero’s welcome

The post Man accused of killing Bulandshahr cop, gets plum role to run PM’s welfare campaign appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: ANI

Reacting strongly to the bail granted to four of those accused of killing her late husband, IPS officer, Subodh Kumar, Rajni Singh said that the “government should kill her if they can’t imprison the criminals.”

“I am very upset that the accused got bail. Bail was not possible in this case. I am very upset with the justice system. What is happening is very wrong. I want to appeal to the government, kill me if you cannot punish the criminals then get me killed! Then there will be nobody to question the government and the government will not have to answer to anybody!” Ms Singh was speaking to ANI.

“This is very bad news for us,” said the slain IPS officer’s son, Shrey Pratap Singh. “They were prime suspects in the case and he (Yogesh Raj) was mainly responsible for what had happened. What guarantee is there that he will not indulge in such activities again? It is only eight months since the tragedy and they have got bail!”

Yesterday, the Allahabad high court granted bail to Bajrang Dal leader, Yogesh Raj and three. In less than three months after the UP government sanctioned sedition case against 44 jailed accused in the December 2018 Bulandshahr violence, the Allahabad high court on Wednesday granted bail to four accused, including Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj, whose alleged role in instigating the locals had hogged national headlines.  It was on December 3 last year, that the heated arguments between the police and the agitated men had taken place.
Last month, Sabrangindia had reported how after seven other accused were released on bail, the accused got a heroes welcome! In August 2019, seven accused in Bulandshahr violence, where an inspector was killed by a mob last year, were released on bail recently. The accused including one of the key conspirators Shikhar Agarwal got a hero’s welcome amid sloganeering of “Jai Shree Ram” and “Vande Mataram”. The video was posted on facebook.

Seven persons accused of the brute killing of police inspector and SHO, Subodh Kumar Singh, on December 3 last year were released on bail by the Allahabad high court on Saturday. The accused, Rajiv, Rohit, Raghav, Shikhar Agarwal, Jitendra Malik, Rajkumar and Sourav allegedly attempted murder, rioted and committed arson during the protests against cow slaughter on December 3 in Siyana, which led to the death of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh. Agarwal, who headed the BJP’s local Yuva Morcha and posted a video along with Yogesh Raj, another accused, while in hiding, received a hero’s welcome outside the prison. Earlier too, Sabrangindia’s exclusive investigation had revealed how ‘social media’ had been used to plot the killing.
 
Videos of the accused being released emerged on Facebook and social media which showed the crowd chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ while welcoming Shikhar Agarwal and other accused with garlands and flowers. People in the video can also be seen hugging the accused as they leave the jail premises.
 
The gruesome killing of Subodh Kumar Singh in December last year had elicited a sharp response across India. Former civil servants demand resignation of UP CM Adityanath. They had said,”

“The mob violence in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh (U.P), on December 3, 2018, instigated and engineered with malicious intent,which led to the cold blooded murder of a police officer brave enough to step forward single-handedly to pacify the mob, marks the most dangerous turn yet in the direction taken by the politics of hate in recent times. It shows that in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, fundamental principles of governance, of constitutional ethics and of humane social conduct stand perverted. The Chief Minister of the state acts as a high priest of the agenda of bigotry and majoritarian supremacy – an agenda which now seems to take precedence over everything else.

Why is this incident such a frightening indicator of the complete collapse of constitutional values? This is not the first instance of a situation intentionally created to foment communal tension. The history of U.P. is replete with such instances. This is not the first time that a policeman has been killed by a frenzied mob. This is also not the first time that the politics of cow protection has been used as a means of isolating and cornering the Muslim community and deepening the social divide.”
 
Our investigation published on December 6 had found how, the social media posts by the main accused Yogesh Raj, a member of Bajrang Dal and other posts show that the violence which claimed the life of police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh (SHO) and a student named Sumit, was pre-planned. Various news reports and social media posts paint a gory picture of the Bulandshahr violence that rocked Uttar Pradesh on Monday. The social media posts by the main accused Yogesh Raj, a member of Bajrang Dal and other posts show that the violence which claimed the life of police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh (SHO) and a student named Sumit, was pre-planned.
 
It had also come to light that a letter was sent by representatives of BJP and other Hindutva outfits to Bulandshahr MLA Dr. Bhola Singh on September 9, complaining about Inspector Subodh Singh. The written complaint spoke about how inspector Singh was creating obstacles in Hindu religious events and that people were angry with his interference. The ‘controversy’ that was deliberately generated was the  Ijtema which is an integral part of the Tablighi Jamaat. Many Hindutva outfits questioned the validity and aim of holding the Ijtema and tried to incite hatred towards the organisers through social media.
 
Bail
Following the bail granted to seven accused in August 2019, the police reaction was ambivalent, given the offence was against a policeman on duty. “We respect the judgment of the honorable High Court. As per procedure, the bail has been granted on certain conditions which includes that the accused will not, in any way, attempt to influence the investigation. If they are found violating any such condition, we will file for their bail cancellation. Five accused facing section 302 (for Subodh Kumar Singh’s murder) have not been granted bail yet,” said Raghvendra Kumar Mishra, who headed the Special Investigation Team constituted to look into the incident.
 
According to the police, the lawyers of the defendants argued that the accused did not have any prior criminal record and that they are not prone to commit a crime if they are granted bail. Accused Yogesh Raj and Shikhar Agarwal released videos alleging innocence and witch-hunt by the authorities, while they were absconding. Jitendra Malik, an Army jawan who was allegedly part of the rioting crowd, was also granted bail. A charge sheet against 38 accused was filed on March 2 in which five people were charged with the murder of the Inspector.
 
“The police have clubbed Sumit’s murder with the rioting and police officer’s murder in the same investigation. The police should investigate that (Sumit’s murder) separately,” said Sanjay Sharma, the lawyer representing Jitendra Malik and three others.
 
On December 3, Bajrang Dal activist Yogesh Raj and several other accused protested outside Chingrawait police booth against an alleged incident of cow slaughter in Siyana. Siyana SHO Subodh Kumar Singh tried to control the crowd but riots broke out soon. During the violence, one of the accused shot Subodh Kumar Singh with his service revolver. One of the protesters, Sumit, was also shot dead by the police officer, allegedly in self-defence.
 
This is not the first time that the social media has been misused by allies of the ruling regime to justify this crime. Earlier, Hindutva organisations Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad had put up posters in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district that carry a photograph of local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj wishing the public on Makar Sankranti and Republic Day.

Yogesh Raj, the main accused in the December mob violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr in which a police officer was killed, was featured in Bajrang Dal posters across the region.
 
On these posters by Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Yogesh Raj “wishes” people on behalf of the two organisations on the occasion of Makar Sankranti and the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.
 
The wishes came on the behalf of Praveen Bhati and Yogesh Raj whose title is mentioned as District coordinator. Defending the move, Bajrang Dal’s Assistant Regional Convenor Praveen Bhati told News18.com, “There is nothing wrong in putting up such posters as Yogesh Raj is the local convenor, and just an accused. He is yet not guilty.” Bhati also features in the poster.

The second application for bail, filed a month later, was solely of Yogesh Raj. The order could not be accessed by TOI but Tiwari confirmed the bail of Yogesh as well. All the accused have been granted bail in other crimes pertaining to the incident including an attempt to murder and dacoity.

It may be noted that a local (Bulandshahr) court of the chief judicial magistrate had already granted bail to seven of the accused, including Shikhar Agarwal, Jeetu Fauji, Kalua, Sachin Kumar, Hemu, Rohit Raghav and others on August 13. Shikhar was heading the district unit of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of BJP.

Yogesh Raj and BJP youth wing leader Shikhar Agarwal were accused of instigating crowds and later played hide and seek with police by uploading videos on social media claiming their innocence. Yogesh was finally arrested on January 3 while Agarwal was nabbed from Hapur on January 10 this year.

It may be noted, on March 6, 2019, after police had filed the chargesheet, including the sedition charges, under IPC section 124 A, the CJM court had pulled up investigation officer Mishra as to “Why sedition charges were applied without the approval by the state government.” Reacting to the development, Mishra had replied back then, “The court had sought clarification as to why IPC section 124 A was slapped without government approval. We have informed the court that at the time of filing of the chargesheet the permission had not yet arrived and we will submit the same moment we receive it in writing.”

Later, in June, the UP government had granted the sanction and on June 28 the then circle officer Khurja and investigation officer in the case Raghvendra Mishra had deposited the letter of sanction in the court.
 
Related Articles:

1. Opinion: When a Hindu got caught in the Bulandshahr cow slaughter crossfire
2. Bulandshahr violence: Main accused Yogesh Raj sends wishes in Bajrang Dal’s Sankranti and R-Day posters
3. Bulandshahr violence: BJP youth leader who blamed Subodh Kumar Singh for violence arrested
4. Bulandshahr violence: Main accused Bajrang Dal activist Yogesh Raj arrested
5. Naseeruddin Shah & backlash for Hijacked Political Narrative of Muslims
6. Bulandshahar incident: Former civil servants demand resignation of UP CM Adityanath

The post Kill me if Govt can’t imprison Criminals: Widow of Bulandshahr Cop, Subodh Kumar appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Again, facebook has been used by men accused of brute violence: seven accused in Bulandshahr violence, where an inspector was killed by a mob last year, were released on bail recently. The accused including one of the key conspirators Shikhar Agarwal got a hero’s welcome amid sloganeering of “Jai Shree Ram” and “Vande Mataram”. The video was posted on facebook.

Seven persons accused of the brute killing of police inspector and SHO, Subodh Kumar Singh, on December 3 last year were released on bail by the Allahabad high court on Saturday. The accused, Rajiv, Rohit, Raghav, Shikhar Agarwal, Jitendra Malik, Rajkumar and Sourav allegedly attempted murder, rioted and committed arson during the protests against cow slaughter on December 3 in Siyana, which led to the death of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh. Agarwal, who headed the BJP’s local Yuva Morcha and posted a video along with Yogesh Raj, another accused, while in hiding, received a hero’s welcome outside the prison. Earlier too, Sabrangindia’s exclusive investigation had revealed how ‘social media’ had been used to plot the killing.
 
Videos of the accused being released emerged on facebook and social media which showed the crowd chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ while welcoming Shikhar Agarwal and other accused with garlands and flowers. People in the video can also be seen hugging the accused as they leave the jail premises.
 
The gruesome killing of Subodh Kumar Singh in December last year had elicited a sharp response across India. Former civil servants demand resignation of UP CM Adityanath. They had said,”
“The mob violence in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh (U.P), on3 December 2018, instigated and engineered with malicious intent,which led to the cold blooded murder of a police officer brave enough to step forward single-handedly to pacify the mob, marks the most dangerous turn yet in the direction taken by the politics of hate in recent times. It shows that in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, fundamental principles of governance, of constitutional ethics and  of humane social conduct stand perverted. The Chief Minister of the state acts as a high priest of the agenda of bigotry and majoritarian supremacy – an agenda which now seems to take precedence over everything else.

Why is this incident such a frightening indicator of the complete collapse of constitutional values? This is not the first instance of a situation intentionally created to foment communal tension. The history of U.P. is replete with such instances. This is not the first time that a policeman has been killed by a frenzied mob. This is also not the first time that the politics of cow protection has been used as a means of isolating and cornering the Muslim community and deepening the social divide.”
 

Our investigation published on December 6 had found how, the social media posts by the main accused Yogesh Raj, a member of Bajrang Dal and other posts show that the violence which claimed the life of police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh (SHO) and a student named Sumit, was pre-planned. Various news reports and social media posts paint a gory picture of the Bulandshahr violence that rocked Uttar Pradesh on Monday. The social media posts by the main accused Yogesh Raj, a member of Bajrang Dal and other posts show that the violence which claimed the life of police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh (SHO) and a student named Sumit, was pre-planned.
 
It had also come to light that a letter was sent by representatives of BJP and other Hindutva outfits to Bulandshahr MLA Dr. Bhola Singh on September 9, complaining about Inspector Subodh Singh. The written complaint spoke about how inspector Singh was creating obstacles in Hindu religious events and that people were angry with his interference.The ‘controversy’ that was deliberately generated was the  Ijtema which is an integral part of the Tablighi Jamaat. Many Hindutva outfits questioned the validity and aim of holding the Ijtema and tried to incite hatred towards the organisers through social media.
 

Bail
Following the bail granted to seven accused last week, the police reaction was ambivalent, given the offence was against a policeman on duty. “We respect the judgment of the honorable High Court. As per procedure, the bail has been granted on certain conditions which includes that the accused will not, in any way, attempt to influence the investigation. If they are found violating any such condition, we will file for their bail cancellation. Five accused facing section 302 (for Subodh Kumar Singh’s murder) have not been granted bail yet,” said Raghvendra Kumar Mishra, who headed the Special Investigation Team constituted to look into the incident.
 
According to the police, the lawyers of the defendants argued that the accused did not have any prior criminal record and that they are not prone to commit a crime if they are granted bail. Accused Yogesh Raj and Shikhar Agarwal released videos alleging innocence and witch-hunt by the authorities, while they were absconding. Jitendra Malik, an Army jawan who was allegedly part of the rioting crowd, was also granted bail. A chargesheet against 38 accused was filed on March 2 in which five people were charged with the murder of the Inspector.
 
“The police have clubbed Sumit’s murder with the rioting and police officer’s murder in the same investigation. The police should investigate that (Sumit’s murder) separately,” said Sanjay Sharma, the lawyer representing Jitendra Malik and three others.
 
On December 3, Bajrang Dal activist Yogesh Raj and several other accused protested outside Chingrawait police booth against an alleged incident of cow slaughter in Siyana. Siyana SHO Subodh Kumar Singh tried to control the crowd but riots broke out soon. During the violence, one of the accused shot Subodh Kumar Singh with his service revolver. One of the protesters, Sumit, was also shot dead by the police officer, allegedly in self-defence.
 
This is not the first time that the social media has been misused by allies of the ruling regime to justify this crime. Earlier, Hindutva organisations Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad had put up posters in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district that carry a photograph of local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj wishing the public on Makar Sankranti and Republic Day.

Yogesh Raj, the main accused in the December mob violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr in which a police officer was killed, was featured in Bajrang Dal posters across the region.
 
On these posters by Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Yogesh Raj “wishes” people on behalf of the two organisations on the occasion of Makar Sankranti and the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.
 
The wishes came on the behalf of Praveen Bhati and Yogesh Raj whose title is mentioned as District coordinator. Defending the move, Bajrang Dal’s Assistant Regional Convenor Praveen Bhati told News18.com, “There is nothing wrong in putting up such posters as Yogesh Raj is the local convenor, and just an accused. He is yet not guilty.” Bhati also features in the poster.
 
Related Articles:

1. Opinion: When a Hindu got caught in the Bulandshahr cow slaughter crossfire
2. Bulandshahr violence: Main accused Yogesh Raj sends wishes in Bajrang Dal’s Sankranti and R-Day posters
3. Bulandshahr violence: BJP youth leader who blamed Subodh Kumar Singh for violence arrested
4. Bulandshahr violence: Main accused Bajrang Dal activist Yogesh Raj arrested
5. Naseeruddin Shah & backlash for Hijacked Political Narrative of Muslims
6. Bulandshahar incident: Former civil servants demand resignation of UP CM Adityanath

The post Rewarded with Bail, Seven Accused of Bulandshahr violence get Hero’s welcome appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: Hindustan Times

Hapur: Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member Shikhar Agarwal, a key suspect in the mob violence in Bulandshahr’s Siyana, was arrested early Thursday.

Agarwal was held from the adjoining Hapur district by the Bulandshahr police.

“He was arrested this morning. We are interrogating him and produce him in the local court later today,” Additional Superintendent of Police (Bulandhshahr city) Atul Kumar Srivastava told PTI.

Agarwal is the president of BJP’s youth wing in Syana and had been absconding since December 3 after his name was included in the FIR against 87 men out of which 27 were named for the violence.

Superintendent of Police (city) of Bulsndshahr Atul Kumar Srivastava said that Shikhar was arrested on Thursday from Hapur and was taken to Syana Kotwali for further interrogation. “He would be presented before the court after interrogation.”

Police Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, 44, and civilian Sumit Kumar, 20, were killed of bullet shots during the mob violence on December 3.

An FIR against 27 named people and 50 to 60 unidentified people was registered at the Siyana Police Station for the violence that was witnessed at Chingrawathi police post after cattle carcasses were found strewn outside nearby Mahaw village.

On January 3, the police had arrested local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj, also a key suspect in the case.

It took police more than a month to nab Agarwal even though the latter had been uploading his videos on social media claiming innocence in addition to giving interviews on TV channels.

Shikhar Agarwal had released a video last month, blaming officer Subodh Kumar Singh for the violence which erupted around a police post on December 3 over alleged cow slaughter. He claimed that it was the police officer who created tension by stopping him and others from taking cow carcasses to the police post for filing a complaint about the alleged slaughter.

Shikhar Agarwal claimed in the video that Singh threatened to kill him and his aides. He said he later told Chandra Maurya, a senior police officer, about the ‘threat.’ He also accused Singh of being “corrupt” and “siding with the Muslim community” to perpetuate cow slaughter.

A man arrested on January 1, Kalua, is accused of attacking the inspector with an axe, chopping off a couple of his fingers and then inflicting a head wound.

Prashant Nutt, the man who allegedly shot the officer, was arrested on December 28. He, Kalua and a third man, Johnny, who had snatched the officer’s revolver were identified from a cell phone video. An army man, Jitendra Malik, another key accused in the killing, was arrested on December 9 and is currently in judicial custody.

So far, over 35 people have been arrested in connection with the violence.
 

The post Bulandshahr violence: BJP youth leader who blamed Subodh Kumar Singh for violence arrested appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Sokalo Gond

Sokalo Gond is an Adivasi forest rights activist dedicated to upholding and defending the rights of forest dwelling indigenous people. She hails from Uttar Pradesh’s heavily forested Sonebhadra district that is home to some of India’s oldest indigenous communities and tribes such as the Gonds. Sokalo is the executive committee member of the All-India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), a sister organisation of CJP working in the field of forest rights.

Despite the passage of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in 2006 that guarantees Adivasis rights to their forest land, forest dwellers across India have been denied their rights by a power full nexus of politicians, police and industrialists who want to exploit forest land for ‘development’ projects. They have effectively prevented the proper implementation of the FRA marginalising the already vulnerable Adivasis and forest dwellers. What’s worse, they often harass and bully Adivasi leaders by slapping false charges against them and throwing them in prison for long periods in a bid to break their spirit. But with Sokalo Gond, they bit off more than they could chew.

They first arrested her right before a major rally in support of a 100-day nationwide campaign for land and labour rights set to begin. Sokalo was incarcerated her for a month in Mirzapur jail in 2015. Then in 2018, Sokalo and two of her associates Kismatiya and Sukhdev Gond were picked up from Chopan railway station in a clandestine manner. This was shortly after a meeting with State Forest Secretary Dara Singh Chauhan about instances of police brutality against adivasis in Lilasi village where cops rained lathis on breastfeeding mothers and babies!

Sokalo, Kismatiya and Sukhdev’s whereabouts remained unknown until CJP and AIUFWP moved a habeas corpus petition before the Allahabad High Court forcing the police to admit that they had indeed picked up and incarcerated the trio. She was released on bail in November. The intimidation tactics and illegal captivity again failed to break Sokalo’s resolve who remains committed to securing justice for her people.
 

Zakia Jafri

Zakia Jafri is a survivor of the Gulberg Society massacre that took place during the statewide carnage in Gujarat in 2002. She and her husband Ehsan Jafri, a former Congress MP were shielding several Muslim families inside their home when a bloodthirsty mob surrounded them demanding that they give up the Muslim families. A brave Ehsan stepped out to try and reason with the mob, knowing fully well that they would kill him. He sacrificed himself, allowing many others to escape to safety.

But Zakia’s spirit was not broken and with the help of CJP she brought about a mammoth litigation that places accountability for failing to control the spread of violence on some of the most powerful administrators in the state government at the time. The original complaint that was filed on June 8, 2008 also contained over 2000 pages of annexures that provide evidence of not just failure to control violence, but also bad strategic decisions that could point to complicity. After a tortuous journey through lower courts that case that implicates powerful perpetrators who now run the government at the center, is now coming up for hearing in the Supreme Court.
 

HS Phoolka

Image Courtesy Twitter

Harvinder Singh Phoolka, a senior advocate at the Delhi High Court and a Human Rights activist, spearheaded the campaign for justice for the victims and survivors of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom. His perseverance and courage paid off when Sajjan Kumar was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court in December.This was a tortuous journey spanning 34 years and riddled with threats and intimidation tactics.
 

Chandrashekhar Azad

On September 14, 2018, after spending over 15 months behind bars, Dalit leader Chandrashekar Azad was finally released from prison. Azad who had been falsely accused of instigating the violence during the Dalit-Thakur caste clashes that took place in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh in May 2017, had been booked in 27 cases. He was put behind bars in June 2017. Just a day after securing bail in all cases, he was slapped with charges under the draconian National Security Act.

Chandrashekhar Azad first faced trouble in 2015, when he erected a sign on his property that read ‘The Great Chamars of Dhadkauli Welcome You’, sparking tensions between Dalits and Thakurs. He started organizing Bhim Army soon after this incident and mobilized many young Dalits under the banner. The Bhim Army was founded in 2015 by Azad with the objective of empowering Dalits through education. Bhim Army has gathered a lot of support this year with Azad hosting numerous rallies and events across India and recently launched a national student’s wing.

But trouble followed him all the way to Mumbai on December 28, where fearing his popularity the entire state machinery acted in an unprecedented manner to prevent Azad from interacting with people. First, they denied permission for a rally that Chandrashekhar was to address at Worli’s Jambori maidan just a day before the event and imposed prohibitory orders preventing a gathering of five or more people. Then they virtually held Azad and his supporters captive at the Malad hotel where they were staying. Azad was neither permitted to leave the hotel premises not give interviews to the press.

Finally, in the evening he was taken to Chaityabhoomi in a police convoy as he had expressed his wish to pay respects to Dr BR Ambedkar at his memorial. However, within minutes of reaching the spot Azad and his supporters were herded into a police van and taken for a ride across town! After three hours they were dropped back at their hotel. The entire episode appeared to be a scare tactic. But the harassment did not end there. The following morning, the police not only continued to prevent Azad from leaving the hotel, but also arrested Subodh More, a CPI (M) leader who had gone to meet him. More remained incommunicado and his whereabouts remained unknown for hours before he was released on December 29.
 

Dr. Kafeel Ahmed Khan

Image Courtesy Sabrang India

In August 2017, 23 children died overnight at Gorakhpur’s Baba Raghubar Das Medical College Hospital, allegedly because of an oxygen shortage. Dr. Kafeel Khan, a paediatrician working in the encephalitis ward at the hospital, rushed to arrange for oxygen cylinders, earning respect for his quick efforts.

However, on August 13, 2017, he was removed from his position as a nodal officer, just days after the incident. In September 2017, Dr. Khan was arrested in connection with the children’s deaths and also over corruption charges that have since been dropped. He was set free on bail in April.

Dr. Kafeel Khan, who saved dozens of lives during the Gorakhpur tragedy, is still fighting for justice. In July, his brother was critically injured when bike-borne men shot at him just 500 mts away from Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath’s residence.
The suspended paediatrician has to visit the court every 14 days just to sign documents. Every other week he has to shuttle between Allahabad and Lucknow to appear either for the probe on his brother’s attack or for his job. His suspension isn’t being revoked and he isn’t being allowed to serve either.
 

Yashpal Saxena

After a young boy Ankit Saxena was brutally murdered by members of his girlfriend’s family, there were fears that given how this was an interfaith relationship, matters could take a turn for the worse. But Ankit’s father Yashpal showed compassion and restored our faith in humanity when he pleaded with people to not communalize the issue and spread love instead of hatred. Four months after his son was killed, Yashpal Saxena organized an Iftar Party at hid Delhi residence which was attended by around 200 people. It was organized by the Ankit Saxena Trust which was set up by his father to promote peace, help inter-faith couples get married and understand the anger of the youth.
 

Mariam Khatoon

Mariam Khatoon lost her 45-year-old husband Alimuddin Ansari to a lynch mob on June 27, 2017. He was brutally beaten to death by a mob of nearly 100 people who intercepted his vehicle at Bazartand in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand. The assailants accused him of transporting beef in his van. They dragged him outside his van and beat him with sticks and pieces of meat. The mob also set his car on fire.

Ansari left behind six children including three daughters. He was the only earning member in the family. The police investigation found that members of a right wing supremacist group were involved in the murder which was planned and executed with precision. What made his case truly terrifying was the manner in which witnesses were silenced even as the trial was on in court. Alimuddin Ansari’s brother Jalil Ansari who was a witness in the case was unable to depose as he did not have valid identity documents. When his wife Julekha and Alimuddin’s son Shazad went back home to get the necessary documents, their car met with an “accident.” Julekha was killed and Shazad sustained injuries when an unidentified man rammed his bike into their bike. Alimuddin’s family and friends suspect that this may not be an ‘accident’.

In March 2018, a fast tract court in Jharkhand convicted 11 people including a local BJP leader. That’s when Mariam Ansari showed the true strength of her humanity and said that she wanted justice and not revenge. She did not ask for death penalty for the convicts. In an exclusive interview to journalist Ajit Sahi, Marium said, “Though they murdered my husband I don’t want them to lose their lives. I would prefer the court gave them life imprisonment.”
 

Kishorechandra Wangkhem

Kishorechandra Wangkhem, an Imphal based journalist, was arrested by state police under the National Security Act (NSA) on November 26. He was given a 12-month jail term – the maximum period of detention allowed under the Act. He was also sacked from his job. All this because he called Manipur’s CM Biren Singh a BJP puppet.

The former anchor-reporter with ISTV, a local news channel, had criticized the ruling party over an event in November. He condemned the state chief minister N. Biren Singh in his Facebook video. He lashed out at Singh, calling him a “puppet of Modi and Hindutva” for organising a function in Manipur on November 19 to mark the birth anniversary of Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, who he claimed had “nothing to do with Manipur”. “Do you have any sense of Manipuri nationalism?” he asked in the video. On several occasions during the video, Wangkhem used expletives for Modi and Singh. “Come and arrest me,” he said.

“If we cannot say anything against the government, then, it shows there is no democracy on our land. Arresting me under NSA for speaking against the government should be appropriate only in the times of Hitler. I strongly denounce the detention under NSA and democracy has no place here,” said Wangkhem adding, “Wake Up People! Wake Up! This is a dictatorial rule, this is an autocracy. We need to unite and bring down such a government in the land!”
 

Hadiya

It took a judgment from the Indian Supreme Court to make it clear to a deeply patriarchal society, that an adult woman’s agency must be respected even if her decision may not be aligned with prevalent (and problematic) socio-cultural norms.

Hadiya, a young medical student from Kerala, was previously named Akhila. In December 2016, she married Shafin Jahan against the wishes of her family and subsequently converted to Islam taking the name Hadiya. Her father Asokan then approached the police claiming his daughter was brainwashed into converting to Islam. His allegation ranged from Love Jihad to the conspiracy to turn Hadiya into a sex slave for ISIS!

The National Investigation Agency started probing the ludicrous allegations, that would have never attracted any attention had this not been an interfaith marriage and had myths like Love Jihad been nipped in the bud. But when the flames of anti-Muslim sentiment are allowed to spread, it always ends in disaster. The Kerala High Court showed utter disregard for an adult woman’s choice by calling her marriage a “sham”. The court not only annulled her marriage, but also awarded a grown woman’s ‘custody’ to her parents!

Shafin challenged the judgement in the Supreme Court and the apex court heard her in person in November 2017, where she not only reiterated that she married Shafin of her own free will, and that she converted to Islam without any influence or pressure. Then, in a fitting slap across the face of patriarchy, the apex court struck down a deeply problematic judgement of the Kerala High Court and directed that Hadiya be sent to Shivraj Homeo Medical College in Salem to complete her education. Hadiya sought the court’s permission to live with her husband and their marriage was restored.
 

Subodh Kumar Singh

Subodh Kumar Singh, an honest and upright cop investigating the Mohammed Ikhlaq lynching case. Little did he know, that his end too would come at the hands of alleged cow protection groups. The 47 year old Station House Officer was murdered during the violence that broke out in Bulanshahr after a cow was allegedly slaughtered in the area. Video clips circulating on social media suggest that Singh’s murder was planned and the communal violence served as a cover for the actual crime.

Singh had reached the spot immediately after getting the call about cow slaughter and tried his best to calm the irate crowd. He was joined by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Siyana who kept on announcing via a loudspeaker that exemplary action was being taken against those found guilty of killing cows. However, the killers were hiding in the crowd that surrounded them and shot him dead.
 

Gagandeep Singh

The video of a Sikh police officer saving a Muslim man from an attack by a group of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad men in Girija village in Nainital, Uttarakhand went viral on social media this year.

A 28-year-old Sikh police officer, Gagandeep Singh, helped save a Muslim youth from an angry mob. On realizing the danger to the man’s life, he immediately rushed towards the crowd and used his own body as a shield to protect the youth from the angry mob. He also refused any financial rewards saying he was merely performing his duty. Singh proved to be the hero India needs today and on August 15, on the occasion of Independence Day, he was awardedg the ‘Frontier Service Respect Mark’ medal by DGP Anil Rathudi.
 

Richa Singh

Former Allahabad University Students Union President Richa Singh who is now a member of the Samajwadi Party was attacked with several of her fellow students’ activists at the Universty of Allahabad. In an exclusive telephonic interview to Sabrang India, Richa Singh said, “They lobbed bombs on campus to spread fear among students. They also categorically told us to stop speaking against the Vice Chancellor.”

The former Student Union President of Allahabad University was arrested on June 19 for protesting against the Hindi exam paper leak along with several other Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) aspirants and accused of burning a public transport bus.

The fiesty student leader had created history by not just being the first woman president of the AUSU but also ensuring that Adityanath (thereafter to become a chief minister) was kept out of the campus on account of his virulently anti-minority views.
 

Umar Khalid

Umar Khalid

Firebrand student leader Umar Khalid was shot at by an ‘unidentified gunman’ in New Delhi on August 13. The blatant attack that many see as an intimidation tactic, ironically took place when JNU scholar was attending a program titled Khauf se Azaadi (Towards a Freedom Without Fear) at the Constitution Club.

The program was organised by a group called United Against Hate to highlight the increasing number of attacks on minorities, students and rationalists. “There is an atmosphere of fear in the country, and anybody who speaks against the government is threatened,” said Umar with his characteristic calm, less than an hour after being shot at.

Umar Khalid, a student activist and PhD Scholar from JNU, was arrested under charges of sedition and for allegedly raising anti-India slogans at a protest against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Agnes Kharshiing and A Sangma

A social activist from Meghalaya and president of the Civil Society Women’s Organisation (CSWO), Agnes Kharshiing and her colleague, A Sangma were attacked by members of suspected coal mafia in Tuber Sohshrieh in East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya in November.

The incident happened a day after Kharshiing lodged a complaint on coal-laden trucks parked at Mawiong rim in Shillong, which were later seized by the police. Kharshiing has been very vocal against coal mining activities in the state since the NGT ban. In the past, she had exposed rampant mining and transportation of coal despite the ban across the Khasi and Jaintia Hills.

Kharshiing, a well-known activist, and her colleague Sangma were visiting to verify the information they had received – that coal had been mined illegally and transported out of the area in large quantities, despite a state-wide ban on ‘rat-hole mining’.

Sangma and Kharshiing are part of the well-known NGO Civil Society Women’s Organisation and are still recovering from the attack. Kharshiing gave an interview after the attack. The brave account can be read here.

First Published on https://cjp.org.in/
 

The post Human Rights Defenders who made India stronger in 2018 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Courtesy: Gajendra Yadav / Indian Express
 
Violence continues to be instigated and orchestrated in the name of religious sentiments and emotions in India. Be it after the demolition of Babri Masjid (1992,) Godhra train burning and subsequent riots (Gujarat carnage 2002,) Kandhamal in 2008 or love jihad (Muzzafarnagar 2013,) violence catches both minorities and majorities its trap. It always begins with spreading hatred making everyone consume the communal poison before triggering it to unleash violence.
 
In the last few years, violence has been related to a clear case of cow politics. Be it consumption, rearing, transporting or grazing, communities involved in animal husbandry, especially cows, have been targeted and tortured. Beginning with Mohammad Akhlaq, whose mob lynching left the country shocked, to Junaid, a young teenager who was stabbed, cow and beef have become weapons of mass destruction. Most recently, cow slaughter was at the centre of Bulandshahr violence which claimed the lives of two men, one a Hindu law abiding police officer.
 
The tragedy exposed the underbelly of communal violence, which not just swallows religious minorities into its orbit but also the majorities. The violence that minorities face doesn’t evoke such a reaction because majorities don’t become a big collateral damage. In Bulandshahr, the victim was an upper caste Hindu man and an officer of the state police. Although the SIT probe report is not out yet, chilling details compiled from news reports is frightening enough.
 
At the beginning of December 2018, a large congregation of Muslims gathered for Ijtema in Bulandshahar. About 50 lakh Muslims participated in it. These congregations keep taking place at different locations in the country. Nearly 70 kms away from this Ijtema, the incident of shooting the policemen and mob violence took place at Sayana village, Bulandshahr. It was reported that over two dozen cow carcasses were spotted in a field which enraged the local Hindutva elements. The villagers reported the carcasses to the police which promised to initiate actions as per the law. When the carcass was being loaded in a tractor and being taken away, a mob of 4-50 youngsters descended on the village and overpowered the tractor. They destroyed property and shot at the officer. Some reports say that cow remains were thrown in the field by Bharatiya Janta Morcha and Bajrang Dal. Other reports and videos suggest that the incident was orchestrated by outsiders.
 
The youth took the tractor to the police station, lodged the FIR and created a ruckus. Yogesh Raj, a local chief of Bajrang Dal, who lodged the FIR, was booked as the prime accused in the incident. Various versions are in the air. What followed led to the death of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in a brutal manner. Sudarshan TV’s, Suresh Chavhanke, the right wing channel close to RSS, tried to link up the violence to the Muslims Ijtema. As per Chavhanke’s tweet, the violence was orchestrated by the Muslims participating in the Ijtema. This was countered by the police authorities who tweeted that the incident had nothing to do with the Itjema whatsoever, which took place far away and was a peaceful event.
 
Many other conspiracy theories were floated. One is that a person named Jitendra Malik, who is part of Rashtriya Rifles posted in Kashmir, was present at the spot and was the main culprit in the violence. His elder brother denied the charge and promised to prove the innocence of his brother. Malik was brought back from his duty in Kashmir, but nothing much seems to have been proven about his complicity. The usual question is who did it?
 
Before that let’s see the revealing facts related to the Inspector, SHO, who as per his sister was killed in a planned manner. Subodh Singh was the one who had investigated the Mohammad Akhlaq lynching case leading to the arrest of many culprits. It is said that it was he “who always took the right stand especially on Hindu-Muslim issues”. Probably he was not letting Hindutva groups have their divisive ways. The local unit of BJP related organizations had written to the officials demanding Singh’s transfer. The other highlights related to the incident are mixed and disturbing. One is that many who had come to attend the Ijtema were sheltered in the Shiva Temple. In fact, stranded devotees had requested the temple premises for a place to conduct Namaz and the temple happily obliged. SHO Singh’s teenager son appealed for peace and harmony in the area. He said, “I would appeal to the entire country, please stop this Hindu-Muslim violence. People get violent at the slightest provocation. People should understand and think that they are bound by the law.” In response, the DSP in a moving Facebook post stated that “I salute Abhishek who even after losing his father is not speaking the language of hatred and violence.”
 
On the other side, the Chief Minister of UP, Mr. Adityanath, in the aftermath of this tragedy, commented that incidents related to cow slaughter are increasing and need to be curbed. This ‘Cow-Primacy’ got reflected in the statement of BJP MP who advised the investigating team to examine whether SHO came under attack because he failed to check the cow slaughters and cow smuggling in the region. The murder of Singh, a serving police official is, relegated to the second place in the Yogi-BJP scheme of things. These are disturbing signs of times where the politics is being dictated by Modi-Yogi, in which emotive issues are taking precedence over human lives and these incidences don’t disturb them as long as they serve their political agenda of polarization.
 
Meanwhile, a cloud of insecurity hangs over the village where the incident took place. The villagers repeatedly affirmed that they had withstood all the communal incidents like Babri demolition violence, Muzzafarnagar violence, etc. but were now afraid for their safety and felt insecure in the spaces they had peacefully occupied for decades.
 
In the pattern and trajectory that such violence follows, it seems that Bulandshar was yet another planned violence. Incidentally, where the victim came from the majority community, an unusual victim of cow politics.

The post Opinion: When a Hindu got caught in the Bulandshahr cow slaughter crossfire appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: PTI
 
Bulandshahr: On Thursday, Bulandshahr BJP MP Bholaram claimed that Bajrang Dal activist Yogeshraj Singh, the main accused in the killing of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, and who is on the run, was doing “noble and eye-opening work”. “Expressing your support for stricter cow slaughter laws is not a crime. He was doing noble and eye-opening work. He brought to my attention that such an incident has occurred. Rest is a matter of investigation,” the MP had said.
 
More party politicians who agree with Bholaram’s rhetoric are now coming out of the woodworks. Another BJP MP pointed fingers at the slain policeman. Meerut MP Rajendra Agrawal told The Indian Express Sunday that the team investigating the violence last Monday should also check whether the SHO became a target because the station under his charge allegedly failed to check cow slaughter and cattle smuggling.
 
“Whatever has happened in Bulandshahr on December 3 leading to the death of the Siana Station House Officer in mob lynching is highly deplorable. But the probe team should also include within its purview why no action was taken by the SHO in connection with the FIR lodged regarding cow smuggling at the Siana police station before the violence,” Agarwal said in the report.
 
“If cow slaughter has been declared by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as a serious crime, then we will have to look into the working of police stations, including Siana, over a broader time period. If we have to uproot the menace of cow slaughter, we will have to look at all aspects, down to the police station level,” Agrawal said in the report.
 
“Putting a strict check on incidents of cow slaughter in the state is a dream of Yogi Adityanathji but some officers at the higher level and policemen down at the police stations are posing hindrances to the CM’s long-cherished dream. I am not saying that all officers are corrupt but there are definitely some who have an agenda to denigrate the image of the BJP government for their vested political and monetary interests,” claimed Agrawal, a former RSS pracharak in the report.
 
“I have lodged complaints of cow slaughter in areas under the Kithore and Bhawanpur police stations but the higher-ups have not paid any heed to my concerns,” he claimed.
 
When contacted, the officers in charge of both the stations denied the MP’s claims.
 
BJP state government’s official stance on the matter doesn’t differ much from Agrawal’s. A day after the mob violence and the policeman’s death, Adityanath ordered a probe into the alleged cow slaughter but did not say anything about the policeman’s death. “Tough action needs to be taken against those who carried out cow slaughter,” the official release on the chief minister’s meeting with top officials said.
 
“When Adityanath finally broke his silence on the inspector’s killing two days later, he called it an “accident”. The chief minister met Subodh Kumar Singh’s family only three days after his death,” a report said.
 
“The police is also following the state government’s priorities. Additional superintendent of police (Bulandshahr) Rayees Akhtar said the main concern was to find out who killed the cows. “After all, it was the killing of the cows that led to the protest, which resulted in inspector Subodh Kumar Singh’s murder. Our belief is that once we solve that case, it will throw light on how the murder occurred. The cow-killers are our top priority. The murder and rioting case is on the backburner for now,” The Wire reported.
 
On December 3, Station House Inspector (SHO) Subodh Kumar Singh and a youth was murdered when Singh was trying to placate an angry mob which had gathered at the police station to protest cow slaughter. Apparently, over two dozen cow carcasses were found in a village field in western UP. The incident has caused nationwide outrage over the lawlessness in the state.

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