Bharatpur killings: Cong admits govt failure,police excess

Party delegation says mosque was attacked,Meo leaders allow burial today

In a clear indictment of the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan,a delegation of Congress MPs who visited riot-hit Bharatpur on the instructions of party president Sonia Gandhi,have held the police responsible for excesses including firing inside the mosque,it is reliably learnt.

Noting that all the eight who were killed were Meo Muslims,the delegation is said to have reported that the mosque walls had bullet marks and bloodstains. Their report was submitted to Sonia this evening.

Over 20 were injured on September 14 at Gopalgarh in Bharatpur after a faceoff over a disputed tract of land between Muslim Meos and Gujjars. The Congress delegation,which visited Bharatpur on Monday,included Vijay Bahuguna,Rashid Alvi,Viplov Thakur and Deepender Hooda.

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They met members of both communities and district officials. Citing statements of local residents,the delegation is learnt to have said that some bodies had been thrown into a well and burnt in the fields.

Local Congress MLA Zahida Khan said that a mahapanchayat of Meo leaders in Gopalgarh today called for the sacking of Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal and the suspension of those officers who supervised the police action.

Incidentally,the Congress MPs mentioned that the communities had reached an agreement but alleged that the BJP and RSS whipped up tension. While the delegation welcomed the Gehlot governments decision to order a judicial inquiry and a CBI probe,it criticised the state home minister. If pre-emptive steps had been taken (by the Congress regime),this incident could have been avoided. There is no doubt about the police excesses, one of the delegation members told The Indian Express. Rajasthan PCC chief Chandrabhan had also taken a swipe at what he called the administrative lapses that led to the incident.

Meanwhile,at Gopalgarh,seven victims will be finally buried on Wednesday one was buried on Sunday. This was decided at the Meo mahapanchayat. So far,the bodies were in the mortuary awaiting post mortem as Meo leaders delayed their burial to push for a special inquiry into the police firing. The post-mortem is vital to begin criminal proceedings against those behind the police excesses, officials said.

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Police,who admit firing 229 rounds,claim they did not enter the mosque where most of the deaths and injuries took place. They say that at least 200 Gujjars stormed the mosque from where Meos were firing but policemen fired from outside the mosque. And entered the mosque once all Meos had fled so they could flush out the Gujjars.

Police also filed an FIR against Maulana Abdul Rashid and others for allegedly delivering communal speeches from the mosque provoking Meos to fire at the police and Gujjars. One FIR each was filed on behalf of the Meo and Gujjar communities.

Meo leader Chaudhary Naseem,INLD MLA from nearby Firozpur-Jhirka in Haryana,said that the mahapanchayat had asked for a hike in compensation to Rs 25 lakh each; an inquiry within three months and suspension of officials who supervised the police firing.