Official inaction let communal frenzy flare up in Kishtwar

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Security personnel chase away protesters in Jammu during the bandh on Saturday in protest against the Kishtwar clash —PTI

The day of festivity, Id ul-Fitr turned into a day of mayhem. August 9, 2013 will always be remembered as a “black day” in the otherwise bright history of the picturesque town of Kishtwar and its people, both Hindus and Muslims.

The land of men of letters and bravehearts, once an independent hill principality located about 207 km east of Srinagar at a height of 5,360 feet, is today mourning its dead and loss of fortunes in the communal frenzy witnessed a few days ago.
It all began from Kuleed Mohalla, a Hindu-majority locality of the town, on the morning of August 9. As has been the tradition, Muslim residents from Hullar, Puhee and Bandraina villages on the outskirts of Kishtwar town, were on way to historic Chogan maidan in a procession to join congregational Id prayers. Two men riding a motorcycle hit a couple of them leading to an altercation. Did the motor bikers do it deliberately or it was just an accident, the police is investigating. The identity of the duo, meanwhile, remains a mystery and source of distrust. Muslims allege they are BJP activists. Police officials say a thorough investigation alone will establish their identity and political affiliation, if any.
The altercation was followed by chanting of pro-aazadi slogans by Muslim crowd. Members of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) deployed in Kuleed Mohalla to protect its residents against possible militant attacks stepped in. They fired rifle shots in the air to disperse the crowd. A small crowd of Hindus, mainly youth, hurled rocks and other missiles on Muslim worshippers heading for Chogan maidan and also started selectively targeting cars parked along the road to the grounds.
It was around 9.30 am. Only a couple of thousand Muslims had gathered in Chogan maidan by then. Most of them were residents of main Kishtwar town,-men, women and children-all readying for Id nimaz scheduled to be offered at 10.30 am and the associated festivity. Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo, local MLA and minister of state for home, also arrived.
“We heard noise emanating from Kuleed Mohalla and then the sound of gunshots. We went to Kitchloo Sahib to say something bad has happened. We implored he should do something about it,” said Abdul Salaam, a Kishtwar resident. Kitchloo’s callous reply as it was came as a rude shock to them. He said, “Main iss mein kya kar sakta hoon (What can I do about it)”?
The Imam, Moulvi Farooq Kitchloo, led the Id prayer but in a hassled fashion and left the makeshift pulpit without delivering mandatory khutba (sermon in Arabic). Sajjad Kitchloo also chose to beat a hasty retreat and relocated to nearby Dak Bungalow. The district magistrate Muhammad Saleem, SP Dr Sunil Gupta and other officials instead of going to Kuleed Mohalla went along the minister to Dak Bungalow where they remained closeted till late afternoon. “We waited outside in the hope they will come out and go to the affected localities and try to stop the frenzy,” said Nissar Ahmed, another resident. “I left for Jama Masjid at about 12.30 pm and don’t know what happened at Dak Bungalow after that,” he said.
The minor clash at Kuleed Mohalla had, meanwhile, turned into a bloody fight between the rival groups. Some Village Defence Committee (VDC) members used the weapons, issued to them by the government to protect themselves and their families from any militant strike, against ordinary Muslim civilians, though aggressive at that point in time. That was done on the pretext of “self defence”. This infuriated the huge crowds which had by then reached Kuleed Mohalla from Chogan maidan. They started targeting Hindu properties, viciously. It was a free-for-all kind of situation and the madness on display in the streets was such that several Hindu families fled their homes and took shelter in neighbouring localities. The silver lining is; their Muslim friends and acquaintances did not disappoint them. They opened their doors for them after ensuring the mobs don’t have a handle on it. Some Hindus were, however, so frightened that they thought not to trust anybody but flee the town.
The Hindus, meanwhile, retaliated and paid back Muslims in kind. But since the Muslim rioters outnumbered those from the other community, the damage to the properties owned by the Hindus is top-heavy. Witnesses said, Dr. Vijay, chief medical officer of neighbouring Doda district, too used his licensed gun against a Muslim mob which had gathered outside his Kishtwar home. Meanwhile, Muslims had succeeded in breaking open the lock of an munitions store and used the looted weapons and ammunition against Hindus. One Arvind Kumar died of gunshot wounds. A physically-challenged Muslim, Basheer Ahmed, was burnt alive. His charred corpse kept lying in open near Chogan maidan till evening. A third person,-also a Muslim,-was shot dead by VDC members next day.
The mayhem continued. Police and other law-enforcing agencies failed in stopping violence from spreading to new areas. After the Friday midday congregation at the town’s main mosque, a huge crowd of Muslims turned towards nearby Amar Market, removed the shutters of most of the shops owned by Hindus, took the merchandise out and set it to fire.
Some other Hindu shops, a hotel, a gas station and scores of private and police vehicles were also torched or damaged in mob violence.
Sajjad Kitchloo was still at Dak Bungalow making frantic phone calls to Srinagar and Jammu to seek help. Ironically, senior police and administration officials remained glued to him and did not bother to go out and visit the affected areas. The DC-SP duo, which had failed to take preemptive measures in view of already existing Hindu-Muslim tensions in Chenab valley especially in Kishtwar district as a result of some nasty actions of members of VDCs, has since been removed and the responsibilities assigned to two other officials.
A huge crowd had gathered outside the Dak Bungalow chanting “Sajjad Kitchloo bahar aao.” It also pelted stones at the rest house. Fearing for worse, Kitchloo scaled the outer wall of the Dak Bungalow and was escorted back home. The minister under attack for his inaction has since resigned but pleaded not guilty.
Already, an announcement had been made in Srinagar-and repeated in Jammu-that Army has been called out to assist the local administration towards restoring peace. No doubt, columns of Army were on the streets of Kishtwar by late Friday afternoon and took control of the town formally at about 7.30 pm.
During those 10 hours, Kishtwar had already witnessed the worst communal violence in its history, laying foundation for anti Muslim riots elsewhere in Jammu division and creating a schism that is being seized for vote bank politics in Jammu and Kashmir and outside it.

(This report is based on telephonic talk with eyewitnesses, other residents of Kishtwar and some police and administration officials as the authorities have declared the town out of bounds for reporters)