Victims of Muzaffarnagar riots have been warned against testifying against the culprits and are getting threats from the offenders.
In a letter to the senior police officers in Muzaffarnagar, some riot victims have alleged that they had been asked to change their testimony that implicated some influential residents of Lisad village in Muzaffarnagar in the killings of several people during the communal violence there.
Lisad had witnessed large scale violence on September 8 last year. The victims have alleged that as many as 13 people were killed by members of the other community. The bodies of many of those killed are still missing.
Saheed Hasan and Shoukeen, two of the victims from Lisad, in their complaint to the district police have alleged that Rajendra Singh and some others have warned of serious consequences if they testified against them. The victims had earlier given statement to the police in which they had accused Rajendra and others of killing their family members at Lisad during the violence.
The victims had tape recorded their telephonic conversation with the alleged culprits and had also submitted the transcripts to the police along with their complaints.
“We have been getting threats from Rajendra, Ajit Singh and others,” the duo said.The victims said they had wanted to find out about the dead bodies of their kin, which are still missing.
They also alleged that many others, who had also suffered during the violence, had been coerced into changing their testimony and turned hostile under pressure.
“It is a very serious issue and should be thoroughly probed and the culprits should be arrested and proceeded against,” said Rajeev Yadav, an activist associated with Rihai Manch, a social organisation fighting for justice for the riot victims.
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