On Wednesday, October 13, a local court in Adilabad district dismissed the case and acquitted 24 Muslim men accused in the violence that broke out between Hindus and Muslims in Bhainsa town in Nirmal district, Telangana, in the year 2008.
All the accused were already out on bail, which was granted to them merely 3-months after the incident.
While pronouncing the judgement, the principal judge of Adilabad court, Madhavi Krishna, advised the accused “to behave with good conduct in the society” and warned them against indulging in any kind of communal violence in the future.
Senior counsel Mohammad Ghouse Siddiqui, who defended the case on behalf of the 18 Muslim accused had argued before the court that, “the police submitted a charge sheet in the case in 2012, four years after the incident occurred.”
“The police had filed the case under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (violence using weapons) and 149 (unlawful assembly to commit an offence), besides 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, they could not prove the charges,” Siddiqui said.
The counsel representing the accused further added that all 24 accused were released on bail within three months of the incident, as the police had failed to file the charge sheet in the stipulated time.
Based on this argument, the court acquitted the accused, stating that the prosecution had failed to provide adequate evidence to substantiate the accusations.
On October 10, 2008, three people were killed and fifteen others were injured in communal riots and subsequent police firing in the communally sensitive Bhainsa town, which was then part of the unified Adilabad district.
The violence erupted during the immersion procession of Durga idols, which coincided with the time when the Muslims in the area gathered to offer Friday Namaz. As per reports, the Hindu procession was passing through a road next to the Panjeshah mosque in the town and the people inside the shrine objected to music being played as their prayers were on. That led to a heated argument between the members of the two communities. What followed next was a round of stone pelting and the situation got out of control.
Hindus alleged that stones were pelted at the Idol immersion procession from the place of worship and Muslims claimed that the participants in the procession had pelted stones at a place of worship.
During the clashes, miscreants plundered and set fire to 150 shops and 20 vehicles. To control the situation, the police used brute force but when that didn’t help the authorities opened fire in the air. According to police officials at the time, the situation was brought under control after 35 bullets were fired into the air. A week-long curfew was also imposed to restore normalcy in the area.
Accused of involvement in the riots, 25 Muslims of Bhainsa were detained by the police and a case was registered against them.
Bhainsa has a history of violence
Since 2008, Bhainsa has been considered a hyper-sensitive area. However, there had been peace for a long time until last year when Bhainsa again saw rioting between Hindus and Muslims.
On March 7, Hindus and Muslims clashed and reportedly pelted stones at each other in Bhainsa, Nirmal district, Telangana. As per initial reports, ten people, including media persons, civilians and police personnel, were injured, and two houses and at least one auto-rickshaw were set ablaze during the incident.
Prior to this in January 2020, a clash broke out between Hindu and Muslim communities that left around 11 people injured. Reports suggested that 18 houses were set on fire in Korbagalli street, and several bikes were torched. BJP MLA Raja Singh was put under house arrest. He had alleged that AIMIM was behind the attack on Hindus in Bhainsa. On February 3, it was reported that the Telangana government filed a case against a journalist for reporting how Muslim mobs attacked Hindu homes amidst chants of “Allah ho Akbar”.
