THE MEERUT STORY: A TRAUMATISED YOUNG GIRL AND CYNICAL COMMUNAL POLITICS

NEW DELHI: The plight of a 20 year old girl, exploited at different levels, seems to have been used very cynically and deliberately to generated communal passions in and around Meerut.

A report by the Uttar Pradesh government has been sent to the central government stating the facts as per the investigations till now. An AIDWA delegation led by Subhashini Ali also visited Meerut and in full solidarity with the woman urged the government to speed up the investigation for a final report, and thereby quash efforts by the communal forces to whip a frenzy around an incident that seems to have its explanation outside the communal discourse.

The 20 year old girl from a very poor family got a job as a hindi teacher in a madrasa. She left her job in February this year because she wanted to complete her graduation. It is from June onwards that the story gets murky, with facts and counterfacts making a myth of the truth and reality. Communal passions were sought to be evoked by the BJP leaders in the district by insisting that one, the girl had been raped, and two, she had been forcibly converted.

The report by the UP government based on a detailed police investigation seeks to rubbish both the claims maintaining that a third person, who has not been named in the first information report, was involved in that he was the person who took the girl to hospital in the first place. And has been recognised by others as a friend of hers.

The girl went missing for a week but her family that was silent earlier now insists she went missing from July 23 till July 27 although this was not reported to the police. She reportedly returned on August 3 to her house after the complaint had been filed. Highly placed sources spoke of a variance in the dates maintaining that she had first gone missing and gone through the surgery a month before the dates now being given out, that is on June 29. This, however, could not be independently corroborated by this scribe.

According to the state government report, the girl underwent a gynaecological surgical procedure at the Govt District Medical College Meerut. This was confirmed by the AIDWA delegation as well who met the lad doctor who had performed the surgery. This was also confirmed to The Citizen by highly placed sources, with the details now part of the state government report to the centre.

It was a difficult procedure because of serious gynaecological complications arising from a fallopian tube pregnancy, and the girl was in hospital for a week. She was taken to the hospital by a young man who was not working in the madrasa and was reportedly well known to her. The sources said that initially out of fear the poor girl said she had gone to Muzaffarnagar, although it was subsequently learnt on investigation that she had been admitted in the above named hospital in Meerut.

When the girl returned on August 3 claims that she had been forcibly converted and raped were made. Efforts to stoke communal fires were based on basically two points: one the girl had been raped; and two, forcibly converted. Sources said that initial facts contradict claims of rape although because of the serious nature of the surgery and the societal tensions she is nervous and depressed. The AIDWA delegation found her to be extremely weak and admitted again in hospital.

Forcible conversion is also being ruled out by a police investigation as interrogation of several persons is not able to verify this. The girls family showed a copy of an affidavit to the AIDWA delegation saying that the girl had not been forcibly converted and had converted to Islam “out of her own free will.” The sources said that the nature and timing of the affidavit was suspect, as such documents are not seen or issued in the rural districts of UP. However, investigations are still on although the facts emerging do not substantiate the claims. Uttar Pradesh Inspector General, Meerut Zone, Alok Sharma was tightlipped when contacted but said, “the case is under investigation and we can’t categorically deny or confirm anything. But the direction of the investigation is at variance with what was filed in the First Information Report.”

AIDWA also stated that “the delegation found that there are many issues which remain unexplained. While the word of the victim must get precedence and form the basis for the inquiry, given the circumstances of the case being used for highly motivated communal propaganda, it is incumbent on the government and the police to complete the investigations speedily so that the truth is revealed. There is every possibility that the young woman is being used as a pawn by communal forces who are utterly insensitive and uncaring about her condition.”

Meerut was in the grip of high tension following the efforts by the communal forces to exploit this incident with the media going along without bothering to find out the facts. The tension was moving into the city and adjoining districts with local residents contacting The Citizen in fear. The UP authorities claim that the tensions were contained by the speedy arrests of a number of persons, and ongoing efforts to replace the rumours by the facts although this is certainly not the full case. Reports of a dubious role played by constables of the PAC have been reported by several residents.

There is deep worry in western UP that continues to simmer, moving from one incident to the other, since Muzaffarnagar. A three member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice R.M.Lodha just recently gave its ruling in response to a petition filed by a NGO Jayati Bharatam for a SIT probe into alleged conversions of Hindus to Muslims. The Chief Justice said, ““this is a secular state…We are also concerned with the matter and you are also saying it is serious. But the colour which you are giving is also concerning us. We are concerned with the law point. You should not do anything or do anything by word of mouth which disturbs peace. We are a secular state and everything should be done that protects the secular fabric. Nobody should do things to disturb the secular fabric.”

The central government has the first report from the UP government that seeks to spell out the facts on the basis of the police investigation into the entire incident. The young girl is too scared to speak now, at least to visitors, but the evidence given by the doctors, clerics, and others in the know has been recorded. It clearly indicates that the effort to instil communal poison through the allegations of rape and forcible conversion is not based on facts, that need to be reviewed, finalised, and definitely publicised.