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FINAL REPORT of FACT-FINDING on THE FEBRUARY 5th & 6th DISTURBANCES IN ULLAL
Carried out by: PUCL & KARNATAKA KOMU SOUHARDA VEDIKE
ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION
The Ullal region has an enviable history of communal harmony. Followers of different faiths have lived there in amity for the past hundreds of years. The famous queen Rani Abbakka who ruled the region in the 19th century and fought valiant battles against the British had employed people of all faiths in the various services of her kingdom including the armed forces. Fishing is the main occupation. It is jointly carried on by Mogaveers and Muslims. Usually it is the Mogaveers who catch the fish while it is the Muslim folk that do the marketing. Communalization slowly crept in with the onset of country-wide communal riots, rath yatra, demolition of Babri Masjid, Gujarat pogrom etc. In 2006 there were communal riots in Ullal too in which the minorities suffered the most. The role of the police then had come in for sharp criticism since they were seen as being sympathetic to Sangh Parivar. In 2008 Sangh Parivar organisations attacked some churches in Ullal too.
The present Ullal incident cannot be seen in isolation but needs to be viewed as part of a series of attempts by the Bharatiya Janata Party to regain lost ground. The BJP had ruled the state from 2008 till 2013. The 2013 state assembly elections saw BJP lose almost all its seats in the district to its rival, the Congress. Now with the 2014 Lok Sabha elections round the corner, BJP appears extremely anxious to get back its lost base. The recent incidents of communalism in the district including the major ones such as the Deralakatte and Kulai incidents appear to be part of the same game plan. Deralakatte and Kulai both started off as criminal cases but were soon sought to be turned into communal disturbances. From all indications the present Ullal incident too appears to be a continuation of the same series. It may be noted that among the 11 reasons quoted by the police in their submission before the 3rd JMFC Court of Mangalore asking for judicial custody, the first one states that there is an organised conspiracy to create Hindu - Muslim riots. Consider the February 8 newspaper reports which said there were a series of incidents in Kalladka (about 40 km from Mangalore on NH 48) which according to police had taken a communal turn. Apparently the main provocation for the Kalladka incidents (which occurred a couple of days later) was the Ullal incident.
Coming to the Ullal incident, a number of Ullal residents including Muslims have confirmed that there was an unruly group of Muslim youth that was indulging in consumption of drugs and about a month ago the group had started harassing Mogaveer residents by throwing stones at their houses, knocking on doors etc. This could be by accident or by design. It is not improbable that someone who deliberately wanted to provoke the Mogaveers could have hired the group to do this. Significantly, no complaints have been registered at the police station regarding this harassment. The alleged moral policing incident (quoted by the madrassa teacher) and other similar incidents may have served to whip up passions after the disturbances were set in motion. Baseless, mischievous rumours such as the one about boats being set on fire contributed to the creation of an artificial scare and led to an escalation of the disturbances. It is worth mentioning here that apparently there are two parallel gangs of Mogaveer and Muslim youth in Ullal that imbibe drugs and engage in criminal activities.
Details gathered by us point to the fact that the police who were deployed to prevent the formation of a mob and immediately disperse any such mob have failed in their duty. Instances have been reported wherein the police actually allowed the mob to attack some Muslim houses. The team has recorded statements by many Muslims who say that the police themselves attacked their houses on February 6 & 7. One reason for this behavior could be found in the communalization of the police. Notably the atrocities committed during these raids went unreported since media persons were denied entry to Kotepura, Kodi area. Under cover of extraordinary powers, the police have by their apparent partiality towards one community and brutal actions against the other only served to further alienate the latter. This has given rise to an unnecessary fear and hatred and persecution complex amongst the minority population. Partisan behaviour of police is apparent from the fact that in the case of injured Muslims (admitted to Fr. Mullers and Yenepoya hospitals) the police did not bother to visit the victims and obtain statements and prepare FIRs. They did that only after PUCL took it up with the Commissioner of Police. In the case of Shah Jahan, one of the victims, the police had in fact filed a counter case first without bothering to take his statement. Significantly the Mogaveer mob attack (led by the Police – say the victims) at 3:30 pm on February 5 does not find any mention anywhere in the Police record or in the press. No ‘FIR’ has been filed. Even if there were no complaints the Police could still have taken suo motu action as they had done for the February 6 incident.
For once the administration appears to have been refreshingly different. It remained firm and did not yield to pressure from any quarter including Ministers, MLA’s, MP’s and a bunch of Hindu (read: Hindutva) Religious Heads to visit the disturbed areas during the period of conflict. This helped prevent any probable escalation and to quickly bring the situation to normal.
We feel that only a thorough inquiry can bring out the role of the disruptive forces in fomenting the present disturbances. Such anti-social forces need to be quickly identified and nullified before they succeed in causing more untold harm. At the same time, it is most important to see to it that the confidence of minorities in the administration is restored. The creation of a neutral police force is essential for reassuring the minority populations and one of the first steps in this direction is to purge the force of criminal and communal elements.
We demand
• A thorough and impartial inquiry headed by a sitting judge of the High Court.
• Release of all innocent persons arrested by Police.
• Suitable compensation to victims of police atrocities.
• Immediate arrest of all drug peddlers.
• Total number of Policemen in Ullal Police Station needs to be increased to UN standards. Also the number of Policemen from minority groups and the number of Policewomen should be suitably increased in proportion to their population.
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT HERE:
- FINAL REPORT of FACT-FINDING on THE FEBRUARY 5th & 6th DISTURBANCES IN ULLAL
- Carried out by: PUCL & KARNATAKA KOMU SOUHARDA VEDIKE
(2014)
