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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Families of Araria firing victims recount trauma by Shoumojit Banerjee

Families of Araria firing victims recount trauma by Shoumojit Banerjee

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published Published on Jun 10, 2011   modified Modified on Jun 10, 2011

Footage of the fracas replayed at ANHAD meeting

Old Rafiq Ansari is inconsolable, shocked and quite simply beyond words as he comes to grips with the loss of his seven-month-old grandson — a death he considers almost surreal.

Baby Naushad, who died in his mother's lap when two bullets struck him last Friday, was one of the four killed in police firing on protesters.

Villagers of Bhajanpur and Rampur were protesting against the construction of a starch factory by Auro Sundaram International Company in Bihar's Araria district.

The trauma of the events was relived as relatives of the victims gathered here on Friday to give voice to the tragic incident amid the unrolling of grisly footage captured on mobile phones, in a meeting organised by social activist Shabnam Hashmi's ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony And Democracy).

The villagers in the Muslim-dominated Forbesganj were protesting against the construction of the boundary wall of the factory, which apparently blocked the connecting road between the two villages.

Tahirun Khatoun, mother of 18-year-old Mohd. Mustafa Ansari, burst into tears while recounting her son's death at the hands of the police.

“I rushed when I heard that my son had been shot...a policeman abused me, threatening to shoot me too,” she said, breaking down as she recalled how a policeman had jumped on her son's body, kicking him repeatedly.

The homeguard jawan who did this was suspended after the repulsive video made the rounds in the media.

According to villagers, six bullets were recovered from the body of Shazmin Khatoun (27), a pregnant woman who was caught in the firing while on her way home after seeing a doctor.

Provocation

However, police and district authorities in Araria maintain that it was unbridled mob fury which compelled them to take the extreme step.

More than a dozen policemen and a magistrate, including Araria Superintendent of Police Garima Mullick, were injured in the fracas.

According to the official version, the crowd had set fire to factory equipment and were demolishing the wall after negotiations between the authorities and the villagers broke down. The mob fired from country-made weapons.

The villagers claim that they had collectively approached the Araria sub-divisional officer and demanded that their road not be disturbed, as it would affect connectivity to the market and the hospital.

One of the directors of the factory is Saurabh Agarwal, who is the son of Bharatiya Janata Party MLC Ashok Agarwal.

Ms. Hashmi demanded the suspension of the authorities who had been present when the incident broke out and immediate compensation for the victims' families.

She also demanded the arrest of the MLA and an inquiry into his role in the incident.

“The hatred in the footage is disturbing for both the perpetrators and the victims are our own,” said noted film-maker/activist Mahesh Bhatt, who was also present on the occasion.

He expressed confidence that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would not let the situation deteriorate.

Though Mr. Bhatt said the issue should not be politicised, mudslinging by the Opposition, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Lok Jan Shakti Party, and more recently, the Congress, has begun.

On Monday, Mr. Kumar ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident.

The Hindu, 11 June, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2094879.ece


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