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Series of Blasts in Ahmedabad, Ten Injured
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A mass grave of Muslim victims in
Gujarat |
By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, May 29 (IslamOnline) - At least 12 people were injured when a
series of crude bomb blasts took place in Ahmedabad city buses, Indian
Gujarat State, Wednesday. The simultaneous blasts occurred at 10.00 am
in buses run by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, police said.
Ahmedabad
saw worst anti-Muslim pogroms, erupted on February 28 following the
Godhra train tragedy. Over 70,000 Muslims of this city are still
living in temporary shelters in graveyards, schools and mosques with
nowhere to go. Their homes and businesses have been looted and burnt
down. Although a sense of normalcy now prevails, stray accidents of
stabbing, burning alive, killing with stones still continue. The Hindu
extremist mobs still burn Muslim homes and businesses which somehow
were spared during the early phases of violence. Even now, night
curfew remains in force in ten police station areas in the city.
Recently
violence has erupted again in Godhra where a number of Muslims died by
police firing. One of them was allegedly killed by the police in cold
blood after his arrest.
Today's
blasts are seen as part of Muslim victims' attempts to revenge the
unprecedented pogroms in which even the state machinery and police
took part in addition to giving free reign and protection to the
rioting mobs who were at times led by ministers, legislators and
leaders of the ruling party, the Hindu extremist BJP which also rules
at the center. Central authorities, especially the hardliner Home
Minister LK Advani, have been talking these days of an alleged
"nexus" between Gujarat Muslims and criminals and the
Pakistani military intelligence (ISI). But, it is a fact that the BJP
government in Gujarat has finished off the Muslim mafia in a
well-thought out plan.
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Muslims living in a
graveyard |
Although
a criminal force like their Hindu counterparts who thrive on contract
killing and extortion, Muslim dons used to help their community during
riots. The current one-sided beating Muslims received during the riots
is due to the absence of the Muslim mafia. Elsewhere, like Mumbai, the
authorities have been encouraging 'Hindu' mafia and trying to
eliminate the Muslim mafia. In the present topsy-turvy India even
criminals are treated by different standards according to their
religion. While Dawood Ibrahim, the well-known mafia don, is on
India's list of 20 presented to Pakistan, his arch-rival Chota Rajan
allegedly enjoys official sympathy. There were reports in the Indian
media that Rajan was given diplomatic help in his exploits against his
Muslim rivals. Bal Thakeray, leader of the Shiv Sena, a component of
the ruling National Democratic Alliance, has publicly praised the
"Hindu" dons.
In
a related development, a team of Indian lawyers is preparing to file
cases against the chief architect of the pogroms, Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders in the International
Court of Justice at The Hague, holding them responsible for communal
atrocities against Muslims in the state, said Majeed Memon, a senior
lawyer of the Supreme Court of India.
"Speaking
at a meeting organised by the Council of Indian Muslims (UK) in London
Monday night, Memon said that "police had actively participated
in the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat…There have been incidents in
which police officers siphoned out petrol from their vehicles and gave
it to the arsonists."
"One
shudders simply by imagining the heartlessness of the perpetrators who
entered places of worship and assaulted women taking refuge there and
then murdered or stopped the victims from filing their FIRs (police
reports)," said Memon.
Noting
that not all Hindus were anti-Muslim, Memon said that "there are
Hindus who have been helping Muslims by risking their own lives, many
of whom are my close friends and are dearer to me than my own family
members."
In
another development, some VHP and Bajrang Dal activists have been at
last arrested for their role in the anti-Muslim violence. This has
taken place for the first time since the riots in Gujarat broke three
months ago. Some of these people enjoyed official protection and
roamed around in official vehicles.
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A destroyed Muslim
locality. |
Babu
Bajrangi, a prominent Bajrang Dal activist in Ahmedabad and four
others with links to the VHP have been arrested and sent to ten days
police remand.
The arrests have taken place in connection with the rioting in the
Naroda-Patia suburb of Ahmedabad which witnessed some of the worst
violence in which more than 80 people were burnt alive and over 700
houses burnt down. Among those burnt alive was a former member of
Parliament and trade union leader, Ahsan Jafari. He spent hours on his
phone trying to contact people in Ahmedabad and Delhi to provide him
protection while the mobs encircled his house. Many residents of the
locality had taken refuge there in the belief that the rioters will
not touch the house of such an important personality. Eventually the
rioters got hold of Jafary and burnt him alive together with others
from the locality.
There have been complaints that the Naroda-Patia case was not being
followed up by the police despite the filing of FIRs. The National
Human Rights Commission had asked for the case to be handed over to
the Central Bureau of Investigation. This move, which may prove
cosmetic, comes as a result of huge local and international pressure.
The accused may be released on parole after a few days and the police
case against them would be full of holes so that it won't stand a
chance in a court of law.
Already,
under police pressure, almost all first information reports filed by
the victims, do not pinpoint specific persons known to the victims,
but talk of "mobs" who attacked them and burnt their
relatives and houses. In this way no one will be punished since a
court of law cannot punish a "mob".
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