The district administration of Alwar went into a tizzy after people of the Meo Muslim community called a panchayat (congregation) to raise their concern over police atrocities on the community.
People were angry over death of a 22-year-old boy, Arif, when a constable fired at him from an AK-47 rifle on October 20 in Naugawan village under Tapukada police station.
The panchayat was held to demand arrest of the accused policeman.
Alwar district magistrate MP Swamy and superintendent of police Vikas Kumar got cold feet when they heard of the gathering, as chief minister Vasundhara Raje is scheduled to visit Bhiwadi for an official function on Monday.
They rushed to the gathering to quell its anger. Alwar SP informed that he had suspended two cops and that the crime branch had begun an investigation into the shootout. But the community didn’t look satisfied, and local intelligence suggests the issue could spill over into a major law and order problem for the administration.
Arif’s brother Azad told HT that the meeting was called because the SP had lied to the community. On the day of the incident, to disperse a crowd of family and well-wishers at the hospital where Arif was taken after the firing, the SP said that the accused would be arrested for a fair probe. “But in next day’s paper, we read that they had only being sent to the police lines. We felt cheated,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Arif’s brother Azad told HT that the meeting was called because the SP had lied to the community. On the day of the incident, to disperse a crowd of family and well-wishers at the hospital where Arif was taken after the firing, the SP said that the accused would be arrested for a fair probe. “But in next day’s paper, we read that they had only being sent to the police lines. We felt cheated,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Meo leaders criticised the police for its atrocities on the community in the Mewat region. A dozen of Meo leaders, including former MLAs Jubair Khan and Deen Mohmmad, Fazal Hussain and Maulana Haneef, slammed the police and expressed their anger for lack of action in the youth’s murder.