Muslim organisations protest Hashimpura court verdict

Ashish Sharma | TNN
Bijnor: Muslim organizations, including the All-India Muslim Front (AIMF) and the city Qazi, protested outside the Collectorate in the city and caused a traffic jam to draw attention to the injustice of the court verdict on the Hashimpura massacre of 1987.
“42 innocent people were murdered in Hashimpura and the only word that suits the incident is ‘inhumane’.The court should change the verdict it passed on March 21. This was such a big incident, I am shocked that an unfair decision was passed by the court,” said Anwar-ul-Haq, Bijnor’s Imam.
The protesters gathered outside the Jama Masjid, from where city residents marched to the Collectorate and jammed the road.
The Hashimpura massacre took place during the 1987 Hindu-Muslim riots in the city. On the night of May 22, 16 Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel rounded up around 42 able-bodied young Muslim men and took them to the outskirts of Muradnagar near the Upper Ganga Canal, where they were allegedly shot. The bodies were later found in the canal.
On March 21, the Tis Hazari court in Delhi gave the benefit of the doubt to the accused in this sensational case, and acquitted all the 16 PAC personnel, holding that there was insufficient evidence to establish the identity of the men involved in the murders.
The gathering of protesters also expressed their disgruntlement with the provision, under the Food Security Act, to make the woman the head of the family on ration cards.
The Qazi said, “The male member has been head of the family for so many years. How can that decision now be changed? It is against the Shariat.”