Property worth Rs 31 cr lost in 44 riots

MUMBAI: Maharashtra has lost property worth Rs 31.5 crore in the 44 communal riots that have taken place since the Democratic Front came to power in October 1999, an official note reveals.
The majority community lost property valued at Rs 13.23 crore while the loss of minorities was about Rs 17.22 crore, according to official estimates. The damage to government property was estimated over a crore of rupees.
The riots claimed 41 lives; at least 17 of the victims died in police firing.About 1,065 people were injured.These incidents resulted in the police registering 662 cases and arresting 4,144 accused. About 4,000 others were put under preventive detention.
By comparison, during the rule of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) between March 1995 and September 1999, there were only 25 major riots in Maharashtra. These claimed 17 lives and resulted in property valued at Rs 68.60 lakhs being lost.
Official statistics reveal that in these riots, the majority community lost property worth Rs 68.60 lakh while the minorities lost property valued at Rs 30.09 lakhs. The damage to government property was valued at about Rs 5.52 lakh.
During the the first two years and 10 months of the Shiv Sena-BJP rule, only 18 major riots had broken out in the state, killing 12 persons and resulting in the loss of Rs 31 lakh.
The majority community lost property amounting to Rs 22.82 lakh, while the minorities lost property valued at Rs 6.34 lakh. The government suffered a loss of Rs 27,600.
While chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal were unavailable for comment, some prominent DF leaders blamed the Sena, the BJP and the sangh parivar organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal for fomenting trouble in the state.
DF leaders reason that the riots will naturally be more frequent when those responsible for them (read the Sena and the sangh parivar fronts) are outside the government and have nothing else to do but spread hatred and discredit the government.
However, a senior official told TNN that the government has moved swiftly to contain the activities of communal organisations. “We were the first to recommend to the Centre to ban the rabidly communal Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIMI),’’ the official pointed out.
The state police curbed the activities of the Deendar Anjuman after the Centre banned it in April 2001 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. It banned SIMI in September.