Forbesganj firing: NCM wants relief under draft communal violence Bill

With Forbesganj having an almost entirely Muslim population,the matter had reached the NCM.

The National Commission for Minorities has recommended that victims of the June 3 firing by policemen in Forbesganj,Bihar,that killed four people,be compensation as per the suggestions laid down in the proposed Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill,even if it is still a draft.

The 20-page report of the NCM also recommends that the Bihar government review the compensation given to acquire land from the community the seed of the dispute that led to the firing and that the district magistrate be authorised to make additional payments on the basis of the then existing circle rates of land (which were higher than the compensation paid).

The police had resorted to firing at Forbesganj in district Araria to disperse a group of farmers protesting against building of a local wall for,incidentally,a factory owned by the son of BJP MLC Ashok Agarwal. Four Muslims had died in the firing soon after Friday prayers,including a pregnant woman and a nine-year-old child. With Forbesganj having an almost entirely Muslim population,the matter had reached the NCM.

The land had been acquired 23 years ago and locals were protesting against the factory wall as it cut across a road used by them.

An NCM team had visited the spot,including Chairman Wajahat Habibullah and his colleague Syeda Bilgrami Imam.

In the report they said though Araria was amongst the backward minority concentration districts identified by the Centre for special help,the money received for school support or for anganwadis had systematically gone to areas of the district where there was zero or negligible minority population. The NCM says it alerted the Minority Ministry on the matter.