After exodus of Hindu families from Kairana, BJP's Hukum Singh asks Rajnath Singh to intervene

After the mass exodus of Hindu families from Kairana, Uttar Pradesh, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Akhilesh Yadav government on Friday, seeking a response. [caption id=“attachment_2814442” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] More than 250 families have left their homes since 2014 fearing criminals who enjoy “political patronage”, following which the commission issued a notice to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) of the state. The NHRC observed that the allegations made are serious in nature. It has also directed the state’s DIG (Investigation) to depute a team of officers for a spot inquiry in the matter covering all the allegations made in the complaint and submit a report within two weeks, the commission said in a statement on Friday. BJP President Amit Shah said that an atmosphere of violence was prevailing in Uttar Pradesh, citing the incidents at Kairana and Mathura. Meanwhile, Ravi Shankar Prasad, during a press conference in Allahabad on Sunday, said that despite the issue being serious, the state government is not taking any action.

The State Govt is denying the existence of incidents itself, that shows the mindset. It is a serious issue: RS Prasad on Kairana incident

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 12, 2016

According to the complaint dated 10 June, 2016, a woman belonging to Kashyap caste was abducted, gangraped and killed, but no action was taken by the police against the offenders. The complaint also stated that in 2014, two businessmen and brothers, Shankar and Raju, were shot dead in broad daylight at a market, when they refused to  pay ‘protection money’ to a Muslim gang, the complain also noted, according to a report in the Hindustan Times. A petrol pump was also looted in the area and when the police took on criminals, they shot dead a constable and fled. India Today reported that the Muslim gang in question was headed by Mukim Kala, who is in jail with his goons. According to a report in The Indian Express, Kairana MP Hukum Singh, came out with a list containing details of more than 250 families (the list puts it at 346) who left their homes. He then met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking an intervention in the matter. The Times of India, in a report, added that the Hindu families fled leaving their possessions behind after they were persecuted by another community. Singh said that the list mentioned the families of Kairana, and if he included those families who migrated from other parts of the district, the number would be more than a thousand. Kairana police, according to Hindustan Times, admitted to cases of extortion but deduced the cause of migration to lack of jobs in the town. Sub-inspector Ravindra Singh dismissed allegations that the local administration was working under pressure from the Muslim community. Hukum Singh, at a press conference, estimated the number of communal killings in the town at 10 for the last three years and called it the “new Kashmir”, the Times of India reported. He also released a list of names who were being extorted for money and when they refused, they were killed, he claimed. Singh added that this was what happened in Kashmir; that businesspersons were being targeted and so people were forced to leave their ancestral properties behind. Shamli District Magistrate Sujeet Kumar has reportedly formed a team that comprises a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) and a deputy SP to probe the MP’s allegations, Indian Express said. Uttar Pradesh BJP unit has also promised to look into the matter, with state chief Keshav Prasad Maurya setting up a committee for the purpose. Maurya said that the situation in Kairana questioned the UP government’s failing security measures. The Kairana issue, added the India Today report, has brought about a political tussle that the state will witness during the assembly elections in 2017. With inputs from PTI