Shimla: Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba is on the boil over allegations of a Muslim family killing a Hindu boy — just a month before the valley’s famous “Minjar Mela” which, ironically, celebrates communal harmony.
The age-old festival starts after a Muslim family offers the holy “mijar” or handmade silk tassels at the Laxmi Narayan Temple in Chamba.
Harmony is a far cry today, as sporadic violence punctuates the uneasy calm in Bhandal village where the murder took place, 40 kilomotres from the Chamba district headquarters.
A mob set the accused’s house on fire Thursday, despite police presence and the imposition of Section 144 which forbids large gatherings.
The victim, 21-year-old Manohar Lal, was allegedly in love with a girl of Bhandal’s Musafir Hussain’s family.
He went missing on 6 June while returning from a hill-top camp where locals send their cattle in the summer.
His dismembered body parts were recovered from three different places, hidden under large boulders in a water stream near the Bhandal village.
The police arrested Musafir Hussain and seven members of his family, including the girl Lal was in a relationship with.
The police are probing the Hussain family’s role in the murder. A cop in the know said Lal’s body was cut into seven to eight pieces.
So far, the police have been able to ascertain that the family asked the girl to invite Lal over, and then allegedly beat him to death and chopped the body into pieces.
When did the tension start?
On 12 June, members of a right-wing group put out news of the murder and police probe on social media. The post cited other cases where the accused were from the Muslim community.
Deputy Commissioner of Chamba Apoorv Devgan said the authorities immediately imposed Section 144 for the next two months.
Additional Director General of Police, law and order, Abhishek Trivedi said the situation was under control and adequate arrangements were made. “Five companies have been deployed in the area. We have arrested the accused and investigation is on,” he told ThePrint.
However, locals continued to protest and even assembled outside the police station as rumour spread that the Hussain family was kept in its lock-up. There were speeches from local leaders, accusing the police of not doing their job properly.
A senior police official of the district said locals had gone berserk Wednesday, blocking roads with large boulders so that additional forces could not reach on time. A police vehicle was also damaged, the cop said.
BJP demands NIA probe, CM asks to give request in writing
Himachal Pradesh’s Congress Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the government will appeal for strict punishment to the accused. On being asked about the Opposition BJP’s demand for a probe by the National Investigation Agency, Sukhu asked for the request in writing. He, however, warned against politicizing the matter.
On Thursday, former chief minister Jariam Thakur demanded an NIA probe into the murder. He claimed one of the accused was investigated in the 1998 Satrundi massacre, when 35 people had been killed by Pakistan-trained terrorists in Chamba’s Satrundi. It borders Jammu’s Doda district.
Meanwhile, Sukhu held a virtual meeting Thursday with top police officers to review law and order in the state in the aftermath of the Bhandal murder.
Why are locals furious?
Lal’s body was found on 9 June, followed by the eight arrests.
Locals said some members of the Hussain family were not arrested because they were minors.
The BJP youth wing president Amit Thakur, who led Thursday’s protests at Kiar police station, said cops were not taking the matter seriously. Thakur said the accused were also involved in illegal tree-felling and other suspicious activities.
BJP leaders stopped from visiting victim’s family
Former CM Jairam Thakur and BJP state president Rajiv Bindal visited the Chamba on Friday. Before heading towards the victim’s village, both leaders addressed locals and expressed anguish over the incident. Bindal termed it a “serious matter”. “We want a probe by the NIA. We will not except any SIT (soecial investigation team) or local police probing the matter,” Bindal added.
Bindal and Thakur — flanked by MLAs, former MLAs and party workers in Chamba and Kangra — then headed towards the victim’s house but were stopped by the police near Chamera Dam. The police said a large gathering could not be allowed as Section 144 was in place. The BJP leaders sat on the road and started sining “kirtans” in protest.
Later, Bindal told the media: “The government does not want us to meet the family. We just wanted to share their grief. Now, we will hold protests in all district headquarters on Saturday,” he added.
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