Muzaffarnagar riots: BJP, SP leaders indicted by inquiry panel, blame game begins

The one-man inquiry commission set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe Muzaffarnagar riots submitted its report to Governor Ram Naik on Wednesday, and according to reports, leaders from the Samajwadi Party and BJP have been indicted for their actions during the riots. According to sources quoted by CNN-IBN, the report has also indicted the SHO of a local police station and other cops for failing to contain the situation. [caption id=“attachment_2444304” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file photo of the Muzaffarnagar riots. AFP[/caption] A report by ABP Live says that SP and BJP leaders have been blamed of stoking violence for their own motives and did nothing to stop the violence. The report will be forwarded to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for action. A blame game started as soon as the details of the report got out with the BJP and the SP pointing fingers at each other. IBN-Live quoted SP leader Gaurav Bhatia as saying, _"_BJP is promoting leaders who were part of the riots. It was BJP which was responsible for the riots." On the other hand an ANI report quoted Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpai as saying, “There is no involvement of BJP in the riots. The report of the enquiry commission is not final. Everyone knows how the commission was set up. We will comment adequately after analysing the report. We have enough evidences to prove that the Muzaffarnagar riots were initiated by the Samajwadi Party.” A Raj Bhawan release said on Wednesday had said, “Justice Vishnu Sahay, heading the commission submitted the report to the Governor today. The 775-page report is in six parts.” The commission of retired judge of Allahabad High Court was constituted on September 9, 2013 and was given extension several times by the government. It had sought an extension of two more months till October 8. Initially, it had been asked to submit its report in two months. The commission recorded the statements of more than 476 persons, including 100 officials in connection with the riots that broke out after an incident on 27 August, 2013. It was also asked to look into administrative lapses, if any, in controlling the violence in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding districts which left over 60 people dead and thousands displaced. With inputs from PTI