Contact person – Shrikumar Poddar 517-337-7888

    PRESS RELEASE

    NRI SAHI CONDEMNS RIOTS, MURDER, ARSON AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTIES IN MUZAFFARNAGAR DISTRICT IN UTTAR PRADESH. WE ALSO CONDEMN INCITEMENT, RUMOR MONGERING, CIRCULATION OF FAKE TAPES, AND TARGETTING OF MUSLIM COMMUNITY WITH THE PHRASE, “LOVE JIHAD”.

    
    The riots were politically motivated. Their purpose was to cleanse villages  of their Muslim inhabitants. Main purpose of the riots was to divide the Jat and Muslim communities and break up Jat-Muslim alliance for the purpose of dividing votes between Samajwadi Party and the BJP. After examining reports of people who have visited the riot area we in the NRI SAHI concur with the analysis of Center of Political Analysis and support their suggestions that:
   

    1.    A Supreme Court judge should be appointed to carry out an immediate and time-bound inquiry into the incidents of violence.


    2.    The Communal Violence bill should be brought to the first rank of legislative priorities, making dereliction of duty by public officials involving both acts of omission and commission, a punishable offence and instituting the principle of command responsibility.

    

    3.    Legal and mandatory duties be instituted under the bill for rescue, relief and rehabilitation of the victims of communal violence.
   

    4.    Immediate arrest of the political leaders who incited violence at the mahapanchayat.


    5.    Arrest of the originator of the fake video which fomented ill feeling among communities and contributed directly to the violence.
   

    6.    Lists to be prepared of all those displaced; their material losses evaluated; supplies of food, drinking water, shelter and clothing to be ensured, with special attention to the needs of women and children.

    7.    Doctors and medical attendants to be pressed into service at all camps.
  

    8.    Urgent attention to the conditions of sanitation in the camps.


    For the NRI SAHI

    
    Shrikumar Poddar

    George Abraham

    Shaheen Khateeb

    Mohammad Imran