Finally justice comes in gruesome Bhagalpur riot case

Nov 28: A transformation in the regime sometimes becomes essential for the development of the state, which is also the phenomenal characteristic of the democracy.

Condition of law and order deteriorated persistently during the Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) government, ruled almost 15 years in Bihar.

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Some remarkable change is now being seen with the alter of the government, no matter it is politically motivated or the NDA government under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar really wants to improve the law and order situation in state. Eventually what matters – is good change in all aspects of life.

The ruling of Lower Court over “Bhagalpur Riot in 1989” in Bihar can be seen as a paradigm in this context.

A Bihar court on Tuesday awarded rigorous life term imprisonment to Kameshwar Yadav, the former don and the prime accused for rioting and killing of a Muslim shop owner, Mohammad Munna during communal violence in Bhagalpur in 1989.

The police had earlier closed the case against Yadav, citing lack of evidence.

In fact, he was later given a citation for maintaining communal harmony by the state police in 2004, when the state was ruled by the RJD government of Rabri Devi.

Kameshwar Yadav was found guilty in a riot case that was re-opened by Bihar’s Nitish Kumar government.



He was convicted for murdering Mohammad Munna in the Parbatti locality of Bhagalpur in October 1989. He was found guilty under Sections 364 (kidnapping), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 149 (unlawful assembling).



Apart from Yadav’s case, the Bihar government had re-opened 26 other cases concerning the Bhagalpur riots. All these cases were closed by the state police under the previous RJD regime citing lack of evidence. The Nitish Kumar government had accused the previous RJD government of closing the cases despite having sufficient evidence.

So far over 300 people have been convicted in the Bhagalpur riots case in the last 18 years. Fourteen of them were convicted on July 7 last.

Communal disturbances between Hindus and Muslims have been a part of the history of Bhagalpur and riots had occurred in 1924, 1936, 1946 and 1967.

However, the Bhagalpur became notorious after the riots in October 1989, and the name “Bhagalpur Riots” usually refers to the 1989 riots. According to the various accounts, about around 1800 people were massacred; a majority of them were Muslims.

According to some accounts, stoning of a Ram Shila Poojan procession - carrying bricks to Ayodhya, as part of a BJP call - by some Muslims triggered the riots. As a consequence of the riots, the silk-weaving industry suffered a decline.

Politicians have forgotten their duty for which they are elected by people of the country. The single pillar in the form of “ the Judiciary” among the three – the Legislation, the Judiciary and the executive - still have “The Last Hope” for the people of our democratic country.

Few years now it has been repeatedly shown by the Indian Court particularly in the case of Jessica Lal murder, Priyadarshini Matto murder case, Kanpur riot case (1992), Cannaught Place shoot out case (1997), Serial blasts in Coimbatore case (1998) and Madhumita Shukla murder case (2003).