Front Page

Bodies of most of the Gujjar firing victims cremated

— Photo: PTI

In no mood to give up: Gujjar women sit on the rail track at Bandikui near Jaipur on Tuesday, as part of the community’s ongoing agitation for Scheduled Tribe status.

JAIPUR: The bodies of Gujjar protestors who were killed in police firing at Pilupura in Bharatpur district were cremated on Tuesday, 13 days after they died. The 16 bodies were handed over to family members after medical teams, approved by Gujjar Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti (Gujjar agitation action committee) leader Kirori Singh Bainsla, carried out the autopsy near the spot where the firing took place.

Medical teams were still carrying out post mortem on 20 bodies of the victims of police firing at Sikandra, along National Highway 11, in Dausa district. It was reported that till evening autopsies could be completed only on 11 bodies. Narpat Singh Shekhawat, Superintendent, Sawai Man Singh Hospital, led the medical teams at Sikandra, which remained volatile during the day. Not far away, at Bandikui, a group of Gujjar women blocked the railway line. The police took into custody over a dozen of them.

Talking to The Hindu from Bayana, S.N. Thanvi, Principal Secretary to the Rajasthan government, who is monitoring the situation, said the last rites for 11 victims of the Pilupura firing were carried out in the villages spread over Dausa, Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur and Karauli districts. The bodies of five other victims, belonging to the nearby villages, were cremated at Karwadi, near the site of firing, in the presence of a large number of people. Mr. Bainsla and other Gujjar leaders attended the cremation.

Autopsies were also carried out on the bodies of two victims of last Friday’s police firing at Kushalipura. Sawai Madhopur SP Jose Mohan said the bodies were handed over to the family members after post mortem and were yet to be cremated.

Yet, even with the post mortem performed or under way, the strife was hardly over as thousands of Gujjars, along with Mr. Bainsla, continued to squat on the rail track at Pilupura on the Delhi-Mumbai trunk route. There was no sign of any initiative for a fresh dialogue between the Gujjars and the government. “Today the whole focus was on post-mortem and the disposal of the bodies. Tomorrow [Wednesday] we will concentrate on starting a dialogue. The Chief Minister has already made an appeal for a dialogue,” Mr. Thanvi said.

“It is obvious that the letter recommending Scheduled Tribe status to the Gujjars cannot be sent. Whatever possible can be discussed,” he said. He denied knowledge of attempts at mediation by a third party or group. However, Gujjar leader Roop Singh said efforts were on to get a team of the Sarva Dharma Sansad to mediate. “I have spoken to Swami Agnivesh and he has promised to mediate along with other members if Mr. Bainsla talks to him,” Dr. Singh said.

There was no information from the government even though Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje presided over a review meeting with her Cabinet colleagues and party leaders.

Special Correspondent writes from Lucknow:

Union Minister of State for Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal on Tuesday held the Vasundhara Raje government responsible for the Gujjar agitation. He, however, said there was no move to bring the State under President’s rule “despite the complete collapse of law and order.”

At a press conference in Lucknow, Mr. Jaiswal said the Centre was against invoking Article 356. Maintenance of law and order was the responsibility of the State government. The Governor’s report to the Centre stated that the law and order situation deteriorated in the wake of the agitation and it was the duty of the State government to restore normality, he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, he said, was practising vote-bank politics. The crisis was the fallout of “hollow poll promises” made by that party. It failed to fulfil the assurance given to Gujjars that they would be granted ST status after it came to power in the State.

Rejecting a charge by the Rajasthan government against the Centre, he said it had given all possible assistance to the State, sending paramilitary forces and sophisticated weapons.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu