Bijnor killings: 'Today we will destroy Muslims,' said prime accused; FIR sheds light on communal angle

Even as Uttar Pradesh police booked 28 individuals under 10 sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in connection with the Bijnor killings, in an uncanny resemblance to the Dadri lynching case, IPC sections for criminal conspiracy have not been evoked against the accused. Among other charges under which the accused were booked include, molesting women, rioting, murder, attempt to murder and so on.

The first information report (FIR) filed by the UP police in connection with the killing of three members of a Muslim family in Bijnor has named a total of 28 members of the Jat community as accused. The FIR, accessed by dna, also puts light on the alleged communal angle to the murders as the complainant reveals the conversations that apparently took place between him and some of the accused. The murders were preceded by a heated argument between the complainant's family after his daughter, a minor, was allegedly harassed by local youth when she was on her way to school.

The FIR, which was filed almost 12 hours after the murders, reads that moments before the gun fire on the Muslim family, father of the minor girl went to one Sansaar Singh's home and complained about his son Nitin harassing his daughter. In response, Sansaar Singh, who according to locals is a political heavyweight in Peda village, allegedly abused the victim's father and said, “Today we will destroy Muslims” (Aaj Musalmaano ko ujaadna hai). According to FIR, 28 men then proceeded towards the residence of the Muslim family and fired several rounds at those inside. The mob also threw bricks and set a vehicle and a shop on fire.

Police have identified 28 people, including a village head named Dilawar Singh, and some of the accused have been put under arrest. All the accused have been booked under section 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 452 (house trespass), 307 (attempt to murder), 302 (murder), 354 (outraging modesty of a woman), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC and Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932 (molesting a person to prejudice of employment or business). It is imperative to mention that the sections of conspiracy is yet to be evoked and according to the members of the family and those in the neighbourhood, the entire incident does not seem to be a spontaneous act. The criminal conspiracy charges hold all the accused responsible equally for the crime. More than 20 accused are from Peda village with some residents of neighbouring Naya Gaon and Kachpora villages.

“The youth who harassed our daughter knew us. The one who came and murdered members of our family also knew us. I can't comprehend how they turned into such beasts in a moment and rained us with bullets,” said Aslam, an uncle of the harassed teen girl. The victims home in Peda village has a joint family set-up and housed families of six brothers. More than 30 people live in the home including 18 children, who came under attack by the mob on Friday morning resulting in deaths of three male members of the family names Anees-ud-din, Ehsan and Sarfaraz. Among the arrested include Satish, Rajpal, Anuj Tikam Singh and Pankaj. While police did not reveal about the weapons recovered from the arrested, sources in UP police said that some of those named in FIR have political affiliations with a “national political party”. “No one to our knowledge holds any party post but some of the accused have previously been associated with political parties and have rallied people as well. However, probing political affiliations of the accused is not our concern. Our mandate is to probe the crime,” said the source.

Meanwhile, the three deceased men were on Saturday laid to rest in a burial ground in the area with more than 500 people attending their funeral. Community leaders who attended the funeral appealed for maintaining peace and harmony.