Maliyana violence: 39 accused acquitted in 1987 riot case for lack of evidence
Following the violence in 1987, area resident Yakoob Ali had got a case lodged against 93 people at the TP Nagar police station.
MEERUT Nearly 36 years after the Maliyana violence which claimed 63 lives, the court of additional district judge on Saturday acquitted 39 accused in the case for lack of evidence against them. Additional district judge Lakhvinder Sood, after hearing pleas of both sides, ordered acquittal of all the 39 accused in absence of sufficient evidence against them.
Following the violence in 1987, area resident Yakoob Ali had got a case lodged against 93 people at the TP Nagar police station. Later, in July 1988, police submitted chargesheet against 79 people while mentioning 61 eyewitnesses. However, only 14 of the eyewitnesses turned up to record their statements. The hearing of the case went on for over 35 years. During this period, as many as 40 accused, along with the doctor who performed the postmortem, died. Therefore, on Saturday, the remaining 39 accused appeared before the court.
Senior lawyer Alauddin Siddique, representing the complainant, said that the survivors have lost hopes of getting justice while pointing out that 14 family members of Ismail, an area resident, were killed in the riots. “Family members of the victims are tired and they don’t want to carry the legal battle forward,” said Siddique while interacting with media persons. On the other hand, defence lawyer CL Bansal welcomed the court decision of acquitting the accused and called it the “victory of the truth”.
Recounting the violence, Saleem Siddique, a resident of Maliyana and eyewitness of the bloodshed, said that it was the 25th day of Ramzan when police and PAC personnel cordoned off an entire locality. Thereafter, drunk rioters allegedly entered the houses and attacked families with sharp-edged weapons and wooden shafts, and set their houses on fire. He added that youths were dragged out from their houses and gathered in vacant plots where they were mercilessly beaten by PAC jawans.
Saleem recalls that he also heard the sound of bullets being fired. Residents came out on the roads. In this commotion, one of the youths said something against the PAC, and a jawan, in a fit of rage, opened fire on him. He somehow escaped the fire but the bullet pierced into the left eye of a 12-year-girl, who was walking behind him. When he complained to police officials about the arson incident, they allegedly retorted “this is your reward for supporting Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan”. Saleem claims that six people from a family were burnt alive. Now, after 36 years of bloodshed, the court has acquitted all the accused. “Where would we go to seek justice,” questioned Saleem.
Those who were acquitted in the case on Saturday include -- Kailash Bharti Kalicharan, Sunil, Pradeep, Dharampal, Vikram, Tilakram, Tarachabd, Dayachand, Prakash, Ramjilal, Garibaldi, Santram, Mahendra, Veer Singh, Rakesh, Jester, Kunnu, Shashi, Narendra, Kranti, Trilok Chand, Omprakash, Kanhaiya, Ashok, Roopchand, Omprakash, Pooran, Naresh Kumar, Rakesh, Satish, Lakshmi Vijendra, and others.
