On April 1, the Jat community of village Inayatpur of Majitha sub-division in district Amritsar, Punjab, announced a boycott of the Muslim Gujjar community also known as Heer Gujjars. The boycott has been called following the clash between the Jats and the Muslim Gujjars on March 22. As per reports, the Jats opened fire at Muslim Gujjars during the clash, leading to the death of two Muslim Gujjars identified as 35-years-old Ali and 18-years-old Surmuddin. The Police arrested two Jats, Billa and Jiddu, who were among those who had opened fire. Reacting to the arrest, the Jat community approached Panchayat and called for a boycott of the Muslim Gujjars.
Notably, not only the members of the Jat community of village Inayatpur have announced to boycott of Muslim Gujjars, but the Jats of nearby villages have also announced support. Reports suggest Sikhs, Nihangs and members of Kisan Unions have reached Inayatpur to show support for the Jat community. The members of the community of one of the nearby village Mohan Bhandari sent a document announcing a boycott to the Police as well.
As per the instructions given by the community leaders and Panchayat, no one would be allowed to support Muslim Gujjars. No one could sell fodder to Muslim Gujjars or buy milk from them. Earlier, they had issued a warning to Muslim Gujjars to ensure their animals do not enter the farms of the Jat community. Since the incident of March 23, police companies have been deployed in the village to maintain law and order.
According to a report by Hamdard Media Group, the locals alleged that Muslim Gujjars leave their animals near the river at the night. The locals use the water supply from the river and the presence of animals pollutes it. It is being seen as one of the reasons for a boycott of the Muslim Gujjar community.
The clash between Muslim Gujjars and Jats
On March 22, at around 8 AM, two Muslim Gujjar youths, Makkhan and Bagu, were going on their tractor to buy cow fodder. Meanwhile, two Jat youth Billa and Jiddu, were coming back to the village after buying fodder. The Jat youth parked the bullock cart in the middle of the road near the river. When Muslim Gujjar youth reached that spot, they requested them to move the bullock cart.
The Jat youth obliged and started pulling back the cart. However, during that process, the tractor hit the bullock cart, and it turned upside down. Makkhan and Bagu rushed to their help and picked up the cart. They also apologised to them for the accident. Meanwhile, Jiddu had already called home and informed us about the accident. Around 15-20 people rushed to the spot, but somehow everything calmed down.
Later, at around 11 AM, a group of Jat youth came back to the spot where Muslim Gujjars live near the river and opened fire on them. During the firing incident, two Muslim Gujjars identified as Surmuddin and Ali were fatally injured. Three other Muslim Gujjar youth identified as Saku, Bagu and Satto were injured and are currently under treatment at Guru Nanak Hospital.
Other reports suggest it was not Jats who attacked Muslim Gujjars first. After the initial clash, the reports said Muslim Gujjars attacked the houses of Jats. The Jats opened fire in retaliation. Some reports suggest that the clash between the communities reached the tipping point after Muslim Gujjars’ buffalos entered the farms of Jats after the initial spat between the youth of the two communities in the morning. A few videos emerged where Muslim Gujjars could be seen allegedly attacking Jats in large numbers.
The Police were informed about the clash and firing incident. Jat youth Happy, Ladi, Manjinder Singh, Billa, Jiddu, Simar, Angrej, Nishan, Gullu and Avtar were identified as involved in the firing incident. Out of these, Police arrested Billa and Jiddu.
Sarpanch narrated Jats’ side of the story
Speaking to The Khalas TV, Inayatpur Sarpanch Nirmal Singh said he came to know about the firing incident around 11 AM. When he reached the spot, the injured and dead were already taken to the hospital by the Police.
He said everything started after the bullock cart of Jats got hit by Muslim Gujjar’s tractor. The bullock cart overturned, and a person sitting on it got injured. There was a verbal argument between the two sides, after which the Muslim Gujjars, who always carry batons etc., with them, hit the Jats, and one of the Jats sustained injuries on the head.
At around 10 AM second scuffle broke out between the two communities. Several people were injured. Jats claimed Muslim Gujjars burnt the straw themselves, but Muslim Gujjars claimed Jats burnt it. Later at around 11 AM, the firing incident happened.
After that group of Muslim Gujjars came to Jats’ house and started banging the houses, there were hundreds of people gathered in the village. He said no one knows who fired the shots. It is notable he claimed Police were present at the scene, but they were outnumbered.
Singh, who himself had shifted from the village three months ago, said the main reason for him leaving the village was Muslim Gujjars. He said when they started shifting to the village, he had requested them to ensure their animals did not cause any trouble to the locals. However, they did not listen. “The area around the river remains dirty because of the buffaloes of Muslim Gujjars,” he said. Other reports have also mentioned that the locals had an argument with the Muslim Gujjars in the past because of the problems caused by the animals.
‘No one knows from where they came’
Singh said the Muslim Gujjars came to the village around ten years ago. When questioned where they came from, he said no one knew their background and no one ever asked them. He further added there were three Muslim Gujjar families, and all of them had over a hundred animals. Only a few of them are registered, voters.
Jats left the village for a few days
He further said after the incident, the Jats got so scared of the Muslim Gujjar community that all the Jat families temporarily left the village. In the report, Khalas TV had mentioned that the families started to come back with heavy police presence on March 29.
He said most of the men of Jat families had rushed to hospital. There were only women in the houses when people of the Muslim Gujjar community reached the village and started banging doors of the houses.
Contents of the FIR
An FIR under Sections 302, 307, 341, 436, 148, 149, 25 and 27 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered in the matter. OpIndia accessed a copy of the FIR based on the complaint registered by Surmu’s father Ferozdeen. In his complaint, 50-years-old, Ferozdeen said that he had lived in the village for a long time and indulged in cattle farming. Since the day he shifted to the village, everyone was against him and wanted him to leave. He alleged when the daughters of his house go out to buy fodder, the young men of the village gather and harass them.
On the day of the incident, when his relative Karim was going to buy fodder with his sons Makkhan and Bagu on their tractor trolley, Billa and Jindu blocked the road with their bullock cart on which they were bringing fodder. When his relative requested them to move the bullock cart, they moved it a little on the side. Makkhan tried to take the tractor from the side, but it hit the bullock cart and turned it upside down. Ferozdeen said he was present at the scene with his son.
His relative apologized to Billa and Jindu and helped them in getting the cart fixed. However, Jindu called his home, and around 15-20 men rushed to the spot. They allegedly beat up Karim and others. Ferozdeen and his son somehow pacified the situation.
Later they came and burnt down the dry fodder at his relative’s house. When his relatives tried to stop them, they thrashed his relatives. Later at around 11 AM, they came with weapons, including pistols and rifles. They fired shots at the Muslim Gujjars, and one of the bullets hit Sumurudeep. Another bullet hit Ali, who also fell down.
Three arrests so far
Speaking to OpIndia, SHO Harsandeep Singh said that the Police arrested three of the accused. Out of these three, one was sent to judicial custody by the court, and two were in Police remand. They were scheduled to appear in court on April 5. When asked about the boycott of the Muslim Gujjar community by Jats, SHO Singh said he got no such information.
Minority panel sought report
After the incident, a two-person delegation of the Punjab State Minority Commission visited the village to take stock of the situation. Lal Hussain and Dr Subhash Masih Thoba, accompanied by SP Detective Manoj Thakur and DSPs Gurmeet Singh and Ravinder Singh, visited the village and talked to the family members and investigation officers. They sought a report by the Police by March 30.
Farmer unions blamed Muslim Gujjars
On March 29, members of the farmer union Bharti Kisan Union (Rajewal) protested outside the District Administrative Complex (DAC) and handed a memorandum to the Jalandhar DC for the Chief Minister. They demanded action against the members of the Muslim Gujjar community and alleged the whole incident started because of them.
They alleged the Muslim Gujjars hit the bullock card, and an elderly of the Jat community got injured. Later, when the Jats went to the house of the Muslim Gujjars to complain against them, their family members attacked them, resulting in a clash between the two groups. The protesting farmer union members said, “We demand strict action against the members of the Muslim Gujjar community and withdrawal of FIRs against the farmers. The Punjab CM must intervene in the matter and deliver justice to the farmers.”
Notably, a day before farmer unions approached DC, SSP (Amritsar Rural) Deepak Hilori had refuted claims of any bias in the investigation. He had said, “We are investigating every angle. A special investigation team (SIT) is working on it. As far as action against Muslim Gujjars is concerned, we have not received any complaint against them so far. Only the accused have fled the village. Protection is being given to those who have returned home.”
