<p>An uneasy calm prevails in the Gopalgarh town which witnessed one of the worst communal riots in Rajasthan. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Ten Meo Muslims were killed and over 22 people injured in police firing on September 14 last year after violence broke out between Gujjars and Meos over a disputed piece of land. The incident has left a deep wedge between the two communities who lived for centuries in harmony. <br /><br />The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders in four blocks in the district after both the Meos and Gujjars had planned a ‘prayer meetings’ and ‘sadbhavana march’ respectively in the area commemorating the first anniversary of the violence. The small town has been converted in to a fortress with large contingent of police personnel deployed in the area.<br /><br /> The CBI is now investigating the case while a parallel judicial probe is on over the alleged failures of the district administration. Till now 15 people including ten Gujjars and five Meo Muslims have been arrested in the year-long investigation.<br /><br />The CBI is yet to complete probe into the role of two MLAs, Anita Singh of the BJP and Zahida Khan of the Congress, in the communal flare up. The Bharatpur district administration has maintained a status quo over the disputed piece of land which triggered the violence. <br /><br />The genesis<br /><br />The conflict was over the claims of the two communities to a piece of land (6-bigha) that both sides saw as their respective common property resource, the Meos as a graveyard, the Gujjars as a pond (jauhar). Tension heightened and the Imam of the local mosque was assaulted by a few Gujjars on Sept 13 who had been proactive in the legal dispute. Crowds collected on both sides the following morning from surrounding villages on Sep 14 at the site while the Meos was gathered at the mosque. <br /><br />The district administration had called an all party meeting and the tension was almost resolved till the rumour mongers were on an over drive. According to reports, some Gujjars spread the news that the Meos has butchered some Gujjar youth and this triggered further tension. While the report of the judicial probe which has been ordered in the alleged failure of the district administration and police in the incident is awaited, the independent investigation by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) pointed to the alleged partisan role played by the state police. <br /><br />Sahil Mayaram, a member of the PUCL team which visited the site as part of the fact finding team wrote “The use of the term ‘riot’ is questionable as eventually both the police and an aggressive segment of the Gujjars seem to have turned on the Meos in Gopalgarh's mosque, leaving ten dead and 22 injured after some 219 rounds of firing. That only 3 died of bullets and the rest of knife and other injuries are indicative of the nefarious collusion of the State and a segment of the local community”.<br /><br />The political class, instead of playing the role of healers of the wound is rubbing salt on it and stand divided on predictable communal lines accusing each other of apportioning the blame. Former minister and BJP MLA from Deeg constituency in Bharatpur Digamber Singh questioned why it has not registered FIR against Local MLA Zahida Khan who according to him instigated the Muslims. Incidentally she got a promotion to the post of parliamentary secretary, equal to a minister, in the cabinet reshuffle following the incident.<br /><br />“In the charge-sheet, police men and senior officers of the state police were made only witness despite the fact that 219 rounds of fire. The CBI investigation should include this disproportionate use of power,” said Jaees Khan, husband of Zahida Khan, local MLA and a Congress leader while many Muslim organisations accusing the CBI and the state government of a cover up.<br /><br />While the Gehlot government which was in the dock over the incident paid a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and a government job to a member of the family of the dead, the families of the victim seek justice and punishment to the guilty. Shamshu who lost her son Mohammad Irfan in the violence says “the case has been deliberately politicised to save the culprits. In this prevailing situation, it seems truth will be a casualty and justice will be at a premium,” she says.<br /></p>
<p>An uneasy calm prevails in the Gopalgarh town which witnessed one of the worst communal riots in Rajasthan. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Ten Meo Muslims were killed and over 22 people injured in police firing on September 14 last year after violence broke out between Gujjars and Meos over a disputed piece of land. The incident has left a deep wedge between the two communities who lived for centuries in harmony. <br /><br />The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders in four blocks in the district after both the Meos and Gujjars had planned a ‘prayer meetings’ and ‘sadbhavana march’ respectively in the area commemorating the first anniversary of the violence. The small town has been converted in to a fortress with large contingent of police personnel deployed in the area.<br /><br /> The CBI is now investigating the case while a parallel judicial probe is on over the alleged failures of the district administration. Till now 15 people including ten Gujjars and five Meo Muslims have been arrested in the year-long investigation.<br /><br />The CBI is yet to complete probe into the role of two MLAs, Anita Singh of the BJP and Zahida Khan of the Congress, in the communal flare up. The Bharatpur district administration has maintained a status quo over the disputed piece of land which triggered the violence. <br /><br />The genesis<br /><br />The conflict was over the claims of the two communities to a piece of land (6-bigha) that both sides saw as their respective common property resource, the Meos as a graveyard, the Gujjars as a pond (jauhar). Tension heightened and the Imam of the local mosque was assaulted by a few Gujjars on Sept 13 who had been proactive in the legal dispute. Crowds collected on both sides the following morning from surrounding villages on Sep 14 at the site while the Meos was gathered at the mosque. <br /><br />The district administration had called an all party meeting and the tension was almost resolved till the rumour mongers were on an over drive. According to reports, some Gujjars spread the news that the Meos has butchered some Gujjar youth and this triggered further tension. While the report of the judicial probe which has been ordered in the alleged failure of the district administration and police in the incident is awaited, the independent investigation by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) pointed to the alleged partisan role played by the state police. <br /><br />Sahil Mayaram, a member of the PUCL team which visited the site as part of the fact finding team wrote “The use of the term ‘riot’ is questionable as eventually both the police and an aggressive segment of the Gujjars seem to have turned on the Meos in Gopalgarh's mosque, leaving ten dead and 22 injured after some 219 rounds of firing. That only 3 died of bullets and the rest of knife and other injuries are indicative of the nefarious collusion of the State and a segment of the local community”.<br /><br />The political class, instead of playing the role of healers of the wound is rubbing salt on it and stand divided on predictable communal lines accusing each other of apportioning the blame. Former minister and BJP MLA from Deeg constituency in Bharatpur Digamber Singh questioned why it has not registered FIR against Local MLA Zahida Khan who according to him instigated the Muslims. Incidentally she got a promotion to the post of parliamentary secretary, equal to a minister, in the cabinet reshuffle following the incident.<br /><br />“In the charge-sheet, police men and senior officers of the state police were made only witness despite the fact that 219 rounds of fire. The CBI investigation should include this disproportionate use of power,” said Jaees Khan, husband of Zahida Khan, local MLA and a Congress leader while many Muslim organisations accusing the CBI and the state government of a cover up.<br /><br />While the Gehlot government which was in the dock over the incident paid a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and a government job to a member of the family of the dead, the families of the victim seek justice and punishment to the guilty. Shamshu who lost her son Mohammad Irfan in the violence says “the case has been deliberately politicised to save the culprits. In this prevailing situation, it seems truth will be a casualty and justice will be at a premium,” she says.<br /></p>
