The Hindu : Hand over riot-hit areas to Army: People's Front

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 25, 2002

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Hand over riot-hit areas to Army: People's Front

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD April 24. At least two persons were killed and half-a-dozen injured in stabbing incidents and police firing in Ahmedabad today even as a delegation of the People's Front visited the riot-affected areas to assess the law and order situation.

An indefinite curfew has been clamped in some areas under the Shaher Kotda police station following incidents of stone-throwing and arson, while six more persons died in various hospitals from injuries sustained in stabbing and police firing, taking the toll in the city, since the renewed violence from Sunday, to 36.

The police recovered the body of a young man in Khanpur locality, the scene of violence in the last two days, while the body of a 35-year old person was found in the hitherto unaffected Law Garden locality. The police believe that the Law Garden incident might not be connected with the communal riots.

A 21-year-old person was stabbed near Jamalpur cross-road while at least three persons were injured in police firing in Juhapura locality after rival communities fought a pitched battle near the Ekta Maidan using stones and crude bombs. The clashes in Juhapura began immediately after the People's Front delegation visited the locality. Some of the injured were brought to the Circuit House to meet the delegation before being taken to hospital.

Talking to media persons, the Samajwadi Party leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav, demanded that the affected areas be handed over to the Army.

The former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, and the CPI leader, A.B. Bardhan, said the Army needed to be properly guided by the local police.

Mr. Yadav said the affected people expressed total lack of confidence in the State police and were in favour handing over the areas to the Army. He urged the National Democratic Alliance partners to desert the BJP and support the Opposition-sponsored resolution on Gujarat to establish their credentials among the secular-minded people.

Mr. Gowda said the delegation was shocked to find that the rehabilitation of the riot-affected had not even been initiated by the State Government and that the relief to the victims was inadequate and far from satisfactory.

Mr. Bardhan came down heavily on the "RSS Governor'', Sunder Singh Bhandari, who, he said, should have acted independently and sent reports to the Centre about the situation in the State. He disagreed that the violence was a natural reaction of the Godhra carnage.

He said the Godhra carnage might have provided an immediate excuse, but the violence was the outcome of the "consistent and persistent campaign'' of the Sangh Parivar to instigate the Hindus much before the Godhra incident.

Taking a dig at the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, Mr. Bardhan said he was busy in bringing "peace'' among the NDA partners rather than in the trouble-torn State.

The Opposition leaders would not join the peace march of Mr. Fernandes here on April 28 as they did not believe that the Defence Minister had any inclination to restore peace.

Meanwhile, indefinite curfew continued to remain in force in Shahpur, Gomtipur, Bapunagar, Rakhial and Vejalpur police station areas in Ahmedabad and Kadi, Kapadwanj, Mehmadabad and Chhota-Udepur towns in other parts of the State with some phased relaxations.

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