On Thursday, January 6, a video had emerged from Kundikala hamlet in the Sarguja district in Chhattisgarh, showing Hindu locals swearing to boycott Muslims. After the video went viral, OpIndia subsequently reported how the action by the miffed Hindus was deliberated by a scuffle that took place between residents of Aara village and Kundikala village on January 1. The Hindu villagers of Kundikala were reportedly enraged by the bias of the Chhattisgarh police whom they accused of threatening and intimidating Hindu victims while shielding the Muslim accused. Hindu victims had come on camera to reveal how they were assaulted by the Muslim accused. They further narrated how the police instead of providing them assistance, rebuked them and asked to remain silent.
Now, OpIndia has spoken to local Congress MLAs, who, instead of condemning the police apathy towards the Hindu victim family or the assault on them by the Muslims of the adjoining village, denounced the Hindus for swearing to boycott Muslims.
Chhattisgarh Congress slam Hindus instead of denouncing police apathy
Congress MLA from Ambikapur Chintamani Maharaj told OpIndia, “The manner in which an entire group of people took the oath will not send a positive message to society. This was a bad decision that should be opposed”.
Meanwhile, local Congress MLA Dr Pritam Ram accused the BJP and RSS members of giving the incident a communal colour by encouraging Hindus to vow to ban Muslim sellers, boycott any commercial transactions with members of the Muslim community and prohibit the sale or lease of any land to a Muslim.
The Congress MLA opined that every victim family obviously wants that the accused is given the strictest of punishment, but actions are always taken only under legal provisions. “I’ve contacted all of the administrative officers and requested that they take the necessary steps. In the interim, some members of the BJP and RSS attempted to turn the debate into a Hindu-Muslim one, with a video of an oath being shown in the midst. The villagers are wise and will not be fooled by their deception,” said Dr Pritam Ram.
When OpIndia asked him why the Chhattisgarh police did not invoke the SC/ST act against the Muslim perpetrators as the victims in the case were Adivasis, the Congress MLA said, “I’ve also had a conversation with the Sarpanch (Mukhiya/Pradhan).” On the basis of the facts acquired by the police on the site, action has been taken. In this case, the locals have spoken the truth. The minor also failed to file a written complaint regarding molestation or other violations, which would have prompted the police to take action under the POCSO Act and other provisions. I’m keeping a close eye on the situation.”
In this regard, OpIndia also spoke with Ambikapur’s Additional Superintendent of Police, Vivek Shukla. He stated that the FIR was filed earlier in the incident, which occurred on January 1, New Year’s Day. That FIR’s inquiry was still ongoing. Appearing to be defending the prime accused, in the case- Ilyas Paksh, Shukla added that Ilyas, enraged by the same incident, committed an act of violence in Kundikala village.
Hindu victim family recalls the horrific attack by Muslims
“The Yadav family filed a police report about the event. We have acted in accordance with the rules. The incident has thus far resulted in the identification of 13 suspects. They were apprehended and taken to court. We’re still looking for the rest. The case is still under investigation,”, added Ambikapur’s Additional Superintendent of Police.
The victim’s family member and village secretary Virendra Yadav also spoke to OpIndia. He informed that the accused initially had an issue with the sons of the Sarpanch of Kundikala village. For a few days, everything was quiet, but then the Muslim side launched an attack on Kundikala village. The Muslims intended target was the sarpanch’s family, but as they passed by the village secretary’s house, Virendra Yadav, he was also attacked and blamed for the brawl.
He stated that six perpetrators were previously apprehended in this case, but that they were all freed on the same day. After that, seven more suspects were arrested, and all of them were freed on the same day. There isn’t a single one of the 13 attackers in jail, Yadav lamented.
Yadav said that the Gagar river flows next to their village. There’s a dam near the river area, which attracts a lot of visitors, said Yadav. “Some claim that the conflict between the two sides began there, while others claim that it began with the market. Our village is comprised of Dalit people. The assailants had come to kill the family members of the Sarpanch’s family, as their initial dispute was with the Sarpanch’s son but instead, they targeted mine.
Yadav added that the accused had previously also lodged a complaint against the village Sarpanch’s family.
Recalling the horrific incident, Yadav further told OpIndia that he knew Ilyas from before still the latter assaulted him and his family. Ilyas and his aides have always been involved infelonious activities, said the village secretary, adding that Half of the people of Ilyas’ Aara village, which is around 4-5 kilometres away from his Kundikala hamlet, are Muslim and half are Hindu.
Meanwhile, the members of the Yuva Morcha of the Bharatiya Janata Party have visited the victim’s relatives and assured them assistance.
They openly threatened to kill all the Hindus and burn down the entire village: Victim family laments
It may be recalled that in our report, we had revealed how the Hindu victim had informed that the main accused Ilyas, who is a Block Development Council (BDC) member, had not only threatened to kill all the Hindus but also burn down the entire village.
In what transpired, a Muslim family from the Aara village, which falls in neighbouring Balrampur district, had travelled to Kundikala village on January 1 to celebrate the New Year. On that day, the Muslim visitors allegedly got into a tussle with a local Hindu resident and thrashed him up. The victim alleged that the six Muslim visitors barged into his house and beat him up and two family members, including his niece.
Subsequently, the victim family lodged a complaint against the Muslim assaulters. Based on the complaint the Chhattisgarh police arrested six people under sections 147, 294, 323, 506, 452 of the IPC, but all of them got bail from a local court the same day.
The Hindu villagers of Kundikala were enraged by the bias of the police. They accused police of shielding the accused by invoking trivial sections of the IPC in the case instead of the SC/ST Act. As the accused burst firecrackers and celebrated their bail, the miffed Hindus gheraoed the Lundra police station, in Surguja district, Chhattisgarh, on 5 January (Wednesday), claiming that the complaint should have been filed under SC/ST act as the victims were Adivasis. Accusing the police of being biased, the villagers gave the police a 10-day ultimatum, asking them to either take strict action against the accused or be prepared for a bigger protest.
The January 5 video appears to be a fallout of this brawl between residents of the two villages on January 1.
Meanwhile, another video has emerged from the day of the incident where, Dilbagh Singh, in charge of the local police station, was seen harassing a journalist who went to the victim’s village to cover the incident.
The YouTube channel Bharat Samman, which visited Kundikala village in Chhattisgarh to cover the news, also interviewed a girl who is seen in the above video with a bandage on her head. The girl in the video, who appears to be a minor, claimed that she was pulled out of her house, beaten up by the accused who also attempted to drag her into a car.
The Chhattisgarh police apathy
The mother of the minor had also revealed how the police had rebuked them when they sought to express their distress to the authorities.
Meanwhile, many other villagers present there demanded in unison that the accused be charged with molestation and attempted murder. They criticised the police for being sympathetic towards the accused rather than helping the victims.
OpIndia had also learnt that the local police station in-charge Dilbagh Singh, who is suspected of protecting the accused, is already under investigation since villagers had accused him of faking cases and threatening to murder them when he was stationed in Shankargarh district in Balrampur in 2020.
