Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has termed the Muzaffarnagar riots as “very tragic incident” and said that the guilty must be punished. The Prime Minister said that the top priority of the Central government would be to ensure that people displaced from their homes due to the riots are sent back safely.
Curfew was finally lifted from all parts of Muzaffarnagar on Monday night, almost 10 days after it was imposed on September 7. The district officials said that the situation was now conducive for scaling down the high alert.
Night patrolling and vigil, however, will continue and a decision to recall the Army will also be taken soon.
The Prime Minister, who was on a day’s visit to Muzaffarnagar along with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday, interacted with the riot victims. Mrs Gandhi was seen talking to women while Mr Gandhi spoke to the youth to get a first-hand account of the events that led to riots in the region. Some riot victims broke down and sobbed inconsolably in front of the Congress leaders as they related their tales of woe. The three leaders also enquired about the rescue and relief operations conducted by the state government during the riots. “It is the duty of the UP government to provide security to its people and the n Turn to Page 3
Central government will give all possible help to the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that those affected by riots can return to their homes. We will also ensure that the perpetrators of riots are given strict punishment,” Dr Singh told reporters in Bassi Kalan.
The three leaders visited three relief camps and spoke to the people there during their two-hour visit. The Prime Minister, along with Mrs Gandhi and Mr Gandhi, also visited the residence of journalist Rajesh Verma, who was among those killed in the violence.
The Prime Minister met the family of the late journalist and assured an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakhs and educational aid for his children. The leaders were accompanied by Union minister of state for home R.P.N. Singh. UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had visited Muzaffarnagar on Sunday and had promised a government job for every family that had lost a member in the riots.
Meanwhile, a strong posse of state policemen and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel was deployed throughout the riot-hit city on Monday for the Prime Minister’s visit. Extra force had been provided to the Meerut zone for the Prime Minister’s visit and additional director-general of police O.P. Singh was in charge of the overall security.
Around 4,000 personnel of the PAC and the RAF are already camping in the district, where the situation is peaceful and no fresh incident has been reported.
Schools in Muzaffarnagar reopened on Monday after a week-long curfew and the city is slowly limping back to normal. The riots that began in Muzaffarnagar on September 7 have claimed 48 lives and over a 100 injured. About 50,000 people are living in relief camps and are unwilling to return to their homes in apprehension of more violence.