Sikhs and others bear the burnt of 'minority' rage in Saharanpur -UP

Two people have been reported dead, 20 injured and more than 50 Shops burnt in a violent altercation that took place between 'the minority' and other communities in Saharanpur today. All this barely three moths after Congress LS2014 candidate Imran Masood had said "Muslims are 40% in Saharanpur, if Modi comes we'll chop him to pieces".

The riot started after an old prolonged quarrel between Muslims and Sikhs bodies over a religious land - Guru Singh Sabha on Gurdwara Road of Qutub Sher area. The roots of this riot go back months when the land for Sikhs Gurudwara was claimed by a local Muslim body.The concerned parties took the matter to courts and after years of deliberation the local court ruled in favour of Sikhs, declaring the Muslims’ claim as illegal trespassing on Gurudwara land.

Following this verdict from courts, the infuriated Muslim community started the construction at the disputed site by placing a lintel at wee hours of Saturday morning (26^th July 2014). This irked the Sikh community and led to clashes which soon erupted into a major violence all over the town.

However, the issue didn’t stay limited to the Sikh and Muslim bodies. The fire spread to other communities as well when good Samaritans in the region came forward in support of the law and court verdict and stood besides the sikh community. Soon personnel and property of every non-Muslim community in the area was attacked turning this into a major riot situation. Two Hindus were killed in the mob attack by Muslim mobs.

As reports last came in, 50 shops of the majority community were burnt to cinder. Prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC have been invoked in the district and curfew has been clamped in six areas. Unfortunately, the local police have lost the trust of the people after earlier such incidences of riots. People suspect that the local police will not touch Muslim rioters unless Azam Khan lets them. Some eyewitnesses report that Muslim mobs in thousands came and surrounded the Police Station in the area and assaulted the police personnel as well.
As a matter of fact the Muslim rioters were spotted assaulting the police leading to complete mayhem on the streets.

Sensing the urgency of the situation a large contingent of security personnel including those of police, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) has been deployed in the area and paramilitary forces have also been called. The Security forces are being rushed in to control the situation.

Curtsey-  http://www.shankhnaad.net/index.php/dharma/under-seige/cultural-subversion-faultlines/101-sikhs-and-others-bear-the-burnt-of-minority-rage-in-saharanpur