On Sunday (17th March), early in the morning, a contractor Mohammad Rafiq in Anjar of the Kutch district in Gujarat set ablaze 12 huts of daily wage labourers in an attempt to burn them alive along with their families. The accused torched the huts located in the Mochi Bazar near Khatri Chowk in Anjar because the workers refused to work for him unless he paid their pending dues for the earlier work.
While the police action against Rafiq is underway after his arrest, it has come to the fore that the accused is a history-sheeter and has been in jail previously for deliberately demeaning the Hindu religion. As per the reports, during the 2002 riots, Mohammad Rafiq and his associates smashed the eyes of the deity at Anjar’s Hanumanji shrine and dismembered it. Rafiq also put a necklace of shoes on Lord Hanumanji’s idol. He was then charged with offending Hindu emotions and for taking part in the 2002 riots after which the court sentenced him to three years in prison.
A copy of the court order of the Anjar court is available with OpIndia. According to the court order, on the night of April 2, 2002, the accused Mohammad Rafiq Kasam Kumbar and Dilawar Viram Raima had offended the faith of Hindus by breaking the idol at Hanumanji temple in Turiawad area of Anjar. At that time the accused Mohammad Rafiq was only 19 years old. The court order stated that these two accused entered the Piplia Hanumanji temple at night. Further, both the accused together removed the eyes of Hanumanji’s statue and threw them away. Apart from this, the idol was damaged in many ways.
Not only that, but both of the accused had painted the idol of Hanumanji green and garlanded it with shoes. While all this was happening, the home guard Jawan present had left for some task. When he returned, he saw that someone had desecrated the Hanumanji temple. Later it was discovered that the act committed by the accused was part of the 2002 Gujarat riots which were still ongoing at that time.
The police arrested both the accused and produced them before the court
During 2002 riots, there were serious tensions in Gujarat. Even this incident in Anjar was a shock to the Hindus. The members of the Hindu community then registered a police case in this matter and the Anjar Police booked the accused under sections 457, 295, 295-K, 153-K, and 120-B of the IPC. Later, the police also filed a charge sheet against the accused in the court.
Both accused parties denied having committed the crime when questioned by the court. The Hindu party’s representatives gave the court 28 pieces of evidence, including witness testimony. Many other people’s testimonies were also obtained in addition to this.
Attorneys for the prosecution, AK Tiwari, and for the accused, N.V. Rathore and SH Palan were locked in a protracted debate. Years of hearings were held in the interim period. On August 28, 2014, the Anjar Court issued the final ruling following the hearing of the parties’ closing arguments.
The court awarded three years of rigorous imprisonment to Rafiq
After rendering a final ruling, the court sentenced accused Dilawar and Muhammad Rafiq to three years in prison under Section 248(2) of the CrPC as well as Sections 457, 295, 295-A, 153-A, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In addition, a ₹5,000 fine was also imposed by the court.
The accused Rafiq was convicted of his role in the 2002 riots and sentenced to three years in prison in 2014. On Sunday, seven years after end of his jail term, Rafiq committed another crime. He attempted to burn alive 12 Hindu labour families who lived in Anjar’s slums. He used to carry out contracting jobs without paying the employees. When the workers sought payment, Rafiq became enraged and tried to burn the labourers.
OpIndia contacted the Anjar Police to get more information on the matter. We spoke to PI Sisodia of Anjar Police Station. Confirming the incident, PI Sisodia told OpIndia, “I came to know about the incident through a phone call at around 8:30 am. As soon as we were informed, we reached the spot along with a team of personnel from our police station.”
“Upon reaching there, we saw that all the huts were burnt to ashes,” the PI told OpIndia, “but it was a relief that there were no casualties. We immediately initiated action.”
Explaining the reason behind the fire, the PI said, “There was a rift between the complainants and the accused Rafiq, because of that, he committed this act. Within two and a half hours of filing the complaint, our team of Anjar Police arrested Rafiq from the railway station. Proceedings in this matter are ongoing as per the norms.”
