Kanwariya violence: Relatives of arrested claim excesses by police, say they're victims of politics

At 2 am on 14 August, a day before Independence Day, some residents of Hayatganj area in Uttar Pradesh’s Tanda were awoken by the police banging on their doors. The residents didn’t know why. Most interviewed said they were scared by this late night visit. Munnu Master (60), a tailor in Hayatganj, whose house was among the many the police turned up at in the wee hours of 14 August said he too was afraid. “I hoped that they’d stop and go away,” he says. But the loud knocks continued. “Fearing that they might break the door down, I opened it,” he said. Soon, a group of policemen entered his home and began searching it. Master didn’t know the purpose of their visit. Nor did the police show a warrant, he says. Master and his eldest son Ajmal (25) and ten others were rounded up and taken to the nearest police station some 500 metres away. Locals alleged that all arrests made in the Kanwariya case on 14 August were without a warrant. Meanwhile, Master’s wife Talimunisa, scared by the sudden arrest of her husband took her daughter to the home of a relative. That night, the police apprehended 11 others from Hayat Ganj. They were among the 21 individuals who were named in an FIR lodged at Tanda Police Station in Ambedkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, after local youth pelted stones at a DJ truck organised for kanwariyas, which was passing through the area. The incident took place on 13 August at 11.15 pm, just a few hours before the arrest. [caption id=“attachment_5099931” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Bakrava Chauraha where the incident took place. Mirah Zamin[/caption] “I never thought a fight that took place on the road would reach my house and impact our lives so drastically," said Talimunisa. Their youngest son’s name is also mentioned in the FIR but according to the family, he lives in Mumbai and had left 15 days before the night of the incident. Master’s eldest son, who was arrested along with him, works in Saudi Arabia and had come to celebrate Eid. However, because of the case he will now have to stay in Tanda for at least six months. Master, who spent six days in jail, said, “I was taken by the police on August 13 and was sent to Faizabad jail on 14 August. I was released on 19 August.” The 12th person, Danish Irfan, was arrested on the morning of 14 August and is languishing in Faizabad jail, along with five others. Irfan is the only person among those arrested to have a criminal background. He was arrested in connection with the murder of Ram Mohan Gupta, brother-in-law of Sanju Devi, the sitting BJP MLA of Tanda. A misplaced timeline According to the police, Dharmendra Tripathi, a member of Hindu right-wing organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad, filed an FIR accusing 21 individuals and 60 unidentified persons from Hayatganj of hooliganism against the kanwariyas. The arrests were made based on the FIR. Of the 12 of 21 alleged perpetrators apprehended by the police based on the 14 August FIR, six including Master have been released, while the others have been shifted to Faizabad jail. The police have charged them under sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 147, 149 (charged when every member of an unlawful assembly is guilty of an offence with a common object), 427, 395, 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 323, 504 and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs). The police say that investigation is still going on and that it has identified some of those unnamed individuals mentioned in the FIR. While the youth took the law in their hand by attacking the DJ truck and the kanwariyas (as shown by purported videos), the vigour the police showed and the method of investigation raises some pertinent questions including how the FIR was filed at 4 am on 14 August but the arrests were made at 2 am on 14 August. [caption id=“attachment_5099971” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Copy of the FIR. Mirah Zamin[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_5099981” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Copy of the FIR. Mirah Zamin[/caption] Besides, while the police can question witnesses orally — the six released claim they were held under under CRPC Section 161 — to do so in custody is illegal. Locals claim police excesses Umaliya Kamil, a teacher at a local Inter College, claimed that even though her husband Jamal Kamil, an elected corporator of Ward 3 area was out of town when the incident occurred, his name figured in the FIR. Kamil’s whereabouts are not known yet. Along with Kamil, the FIR also names his brothers Jamal Akhtar (40) and Jamal Ajmal (38). His brothers were also picked up at 2 am on 14 August while their families were asleep. While Ajmal has been released, Akhtar is languishing in Faizabad jail. Locals allege that Tripathi, a resident of Bhaskariya which is seven kilometres away from Hayatganj, wasn’t even near the area when the incident occurred. In the initial interviews, Mahindra Kumar Yadav, second in command at Tanda Police Station, told the reporter that all arrests were made solely on the basis of Tripathi’s plaint. Tanda additional superintendent of police Om Prakash Singh, who is familiar with the case, said, “We took charge according to the FIR filed. The investigation is still on, no innocent will be penalised.” No resident of Hayatganj has filed any complaint about the incident though some allege that the kanwariyas looted shops in the area. “We have been made victim to one’s politics. How is it possible that someone (Tripathi) who lives seven kilometres away from here knew everyone’s name, address and even the name of other family members," asked Umaliya. [caption id=“attachment_5099921” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Umaliya Kamil, wife of Jamal Kamil, who has been named in the FIR. Mirah Zamin[/caption] The 13 August violence has been widely publicised in the media: videos on YouTube as well as footage of  TV channels show young men throwing stones at the DJ truck; in another video, shot sometime after the incident, the then superintendent of police Santosh Kumar Mishra is seen shouting ‘bol bam’ along with the kanwariyas. Mishra—now Fatehgarh superintendent of police—asked this reporter to contact the additional superintendent of police for comment. ‘No one is innocent’ Tanda station house officer RL Patel said the kanwariyas were passing through the Bakrava pull (bridge) in Hayatganj area when Muslim youth started pelting stones at them and their vehicle, which resulted in the car’s glass breaking and some kanwariyas being injured.   “We have video evidence of the same,” Patel said. Asked why none of the kanwariyas filed a case, Patel added, “The kanwariyas ran away after stones were pelted at them.  The investigation is on, whoever is involved will not be spared. Everybody claims to be innocent after being caught, but it is our duty to investigate. Nobody is innocent. Everyone is from here.” The police claim to have made the arrest after identifying the perpetrators based on the videos circulating on the internet. However, it’s difficult to identify the perpetrators of the violence in the clips because of the darkness. ‘Noise pollution was the cause’ Every year, kanwariyas pass through Hayatganj. In their honour, a DJ competition was organised at the Bakrava chauraha this year. It was the noise of the DJ competition—playing beyond the 10 pm deadline—that became a bone of contention between the kanwariyas and residents, resulting in stone pelting and alleged looting of shops. Narrating the incident, Talimunisa said, “The DJ was playing loud music because of which I was unable to sleep. So, I stood in the balcony. It was then that I saw a girl from the neighborhood fainting. A crowd gathered around her. She was taken upstairs to the house of Azad Tailors. While all this happened, a few boys picked up stones from the road and threw them at the speaker since the DJ was not lowering the volume.”  She added the scene turned violent in ten minutes and police arrived soon after. [caption id=“attachment_5099961” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Policemen sationed outside Azad Tailors. Mirah Zamin[/caption] Kanwariyas were allowed to hire DJs during this year’s kanwar yatra after an order from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who compared it with azaan. Dr Kamal Ashraf was arrested on 13 August, along with his brother Haji Habibullah (60) who is the owner of Azad Tailors. Ashraf said violence broke out after Nazneen, a 22-year-old girl, fainted after she emerged from her home to ask the DJ to lower the volume. In the heat of the moment, her 17-year-old brother Shaban (whose name is in the FIR) threw a stone at the speaker, followed by others who were present in the area, he claimed. With the mob growing in strength, the kanwariyas reacted by breaking the lock of a ‘gumti’ (small shop). The police turned up soon after, he added. Additional Superintendent of Police OP Singh, however, rubbished the contention that a DJ competition led to the violence. “What does a DJ competition have to do with a religious yatra?” he asked. And, said SHO Patel, “If the girl had fainted, they should have informed police. Why did they start throwing stones? It was intentionally done. The driver could have been injured badly. They broke everything car shield, DJ set everything.” Patel informs that the kanwariya have their own DJ and nobody organises it. Those whose shops were looted named in the FIR Nazneen’s father Aziz-ul-Rahman (55) and uncle Khalil-u-Rahman (65), who were also arrested on the night of 13 August, are still in jail. According to Ashraf, none of the kanwariyas or residents were injured. He said that although a few shops were looted by the kanwariyas, no complaints have been filed. Ashraf said that before the incident, he also requested the DJ to turn the volume down—the 10 pm deadline has passed—but was told off. They told him that the DJ competition was organised by Rameshwaram Gupta. Gupta said he had nothing to do with the DJ or the competition. Yet, locals claim that Gupta arranges the DJ competition every year.  Ashraf was released on 25 August, but his brother is still in jail. Local panwala Faiyaz Ali, whose shop was also looted on the night of the incident is also among those named in FIR. He has been missing since 13 August. “My brother’s shop was looted by the kanwariyas while he was home asleep, the kanwariya took away all his money and goods yet it was he who has been blamed,” said Sajid Hussain. While his brother is missing, Hussain’s son Abrar Ali, who went to check on the shop that night, is in jail. “My son Abrar is innocent. He went back to check whether the shop was locked properly because he knew the kanwariyas passed through this area and they create ruckus,” added Sajid. Locals claim that Tripathi, the man who filed the FIR, wasn’t even in the area when the incident occurred.  Tripathi briefly spoke to this reporter about the matter:

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You recently registered an FIR? Tripathi: Yes You filed an FIR against 21 people, but you are not a resident of Hayatganj. How did you accurately write everyone’s name and address? Tripathi: I will only speak about this in the court. I don’t want to talk to any journalist or officer about this. The judge will take whatever decision he has to based on my testimony. Many have said you were not there when the entire incident happened. Is that true? Tripathi: That is not possible. I was right there and rest I will talk only in front of the judge, you don’t worry about that. Can you please confirm the name of the organisation you are associated with? Tripathi: I am member of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and if you don’t know this you haven’t read the FIR properly where this is clearly mentioned and you are not a good journalist. Do your homework first. I don’t wish to talk any further on this and request you not to call again.

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This reporter then received a series of calls from Tripathi and his associates who enquired about the reporter’s whereabouts and religious affiliations in an aggressive tone. In one of the calls, Tripathi asked the reporter’s name and her ‘title name’ in specific and further said, “I write Tripathi so my caste is Hindu Pandit. What is your caste?” “I feel sad because whatever calls I have got till now are from Hindus,” Tripathi said. “No Muslim has called me. Jinse baath karne ka maza hi kuch aur ho’ (it will be fun to talk to a Muslim)”. Tripathi then insisted that the reporter meet him. After the violence Visiting Hayatganj 15 days after the incident, this reporter saw CRPF men deployed. Saroj Singh, one of the officers on duty said, “Nothing has happened since the day we arrived. One cannot even guess something like this might have happened here.” Another officer Raj Singh added, “People are living a routine life. Both communities are living in peace.” Even 15 days later, several of the kin of those arrested on 13 August and are still in jail remain clueless as to what led to the incident.