Muzaffarnagar: Families of 3 youths whose death sparked violence appeal for peace // IB warns UP bloodshed could spread // BJP plans communal flames in western UP // Fake lynching video used to provoke violence

The deaths of their sons reportedly triggered the communal violence in Muzaffarnagar which has claimed 31 lives in three days. But all three families say they did not expect their personal tragedy would lead to so many deaths. 
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"If the administration allows, we will come out and request the people to close this chapter. We only wanted the accused to be brought to justice, we never participated in any of the meetings organised after the incident," said Bishan Singh, father of Sachin Taliyan, 24, one of the three persons killed in Kawal village on August 27. Sachin was married and had a two-and-a-half-year-old child.

Editorial: Communal conflict in UP must be checked

"We did not want our son's murder to be made into a political issue, although political leaders visited us. Amid the present violence, my son's case has taken a backseat. We want the police to arrest the accused," said Ravinder Singh, father of Gaurav Kumar.

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According to reports, Gaurav, a resident of the nearby Malipura village and a Class 12 student, was on his way home from school with his two female cousins when Shahnawaz, 22, allegedly passed some lewd remarks. After an argument with Shahnawaz, Gaurav left the place, but later returned with Sachin and a few others. The group allegedly attacked Shahnawaz with knives. While some residents rushed Shahnawaz to hospital, others caught hold of Sachin and Gaurav and reportedly lynched them. Shahnawaz later died in hospital.

Muzaffarnagar: Packed hospital, empty streets

The families of Gaurav and Shahnawaz also said they had not participated in any public meeting held after the incident. Shahnawaz's uncle, Shameem, said his family has left their home in Kawal village and fled to an undisclosed place. "Everyone fears being arrested on the charge of double murder," he said. "We also want the accused to be arrested and do not support this violence," he added. Police have been deployed at the houses of both Ravinder Singh and Bishan Singh. "We believe the district police and administration are also responsible for the situation because they did not take the matter seriously. Instead of arresting the accused, they framed us in the case," said Ravinder Singh

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/muzaffarnagar-families-of-3-youths-whose-death-sparked-violence-appeal-for-peace/1166901/0

BJP plans communal flames in western UP // Fake lynching video used to provoke violence

Muzaffarnagar's embers of hate will burn for a long time. Intelligence Bureau (IB) inputs from the district and its adjacent localities indicate that the unrest in Western Uttar Pradesh is far from over, and could spread to other parts of the country. Reports indicate that the communal tension has moved away from the city and into the rural hinterland. 

The IB is sharing its inputs with the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to one of the IB reports, there are several rural areas of Western Uttar Pradesh where there could be more violent clashes. Villages around Bareilly, Aligarh, Mathura, Hapur, Meerut, Shamli, Moradabad, Rampur and Saharanpur have been identified as areas where the trouble could shift as a fallout of the Muzaffarnagar violence."The current situation in Muzafarnagar has the potential to spread to other parts. If violence continues in rural areas it could snowball into major problem," said a home ministry official. 

With intelligence reports indicating that the unrest could spread to other parts and could get prolonged, the government is worried as that could lead to a polarised electorate that will have the Congress losing out. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Saturday that such incidents of communal violence are likely to occur ahead of elections. Sources said intelligence reports also indicate that local political leaders have instigated the violence.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2416393/Intelligence-Bureau-warns-UP-bloodshed-spread-country-Muzaffarnagar-violence-continues.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Message from Professor Vipin Tripathi, of IIT, Editor of Sadbhav Mission Patrika:

Friends, I and Aarish have just returned from Muzaffarnagar area, which has been plagued with tensions and violence since August 27, 2013. In the morning as we reached the Inter State Bus Terminal, Delhi we discovered the buses were not going to Muzaffarnagar as most parts of the district were put under curfew. We took a bus to Meerut. As we got down there, we saw police around. We talked to Sub Inspector Satish Sharma. He was very nice and appreciated our initiative to visit the area. He apprised us of the situation and said violence had taken place yesterday but situation was improving. State Transport Officer Mr. Suhail was also very warm. He helped us take a bus to Muzaffarnagar bypass. Also came to meet us Mr. Tejvir Singh whom I knew  since 2007, when he and six of his friends came to see me at IIT Delhi in connection with preparations to Ph.D. entrance and I gave them 8 lectures in Electromagnetic Theory. Tejvir is now lecturer in a University in Meerut. His brother Arvind Singh is Village Pradhan (Chief) at Bopara. He called him and told that we would reach there in two hours. 

We boarded the bus and got down at Mansoorpur, 11 Km before Muzaffarnagar. We talked to people over there and then walked 1.5 km to village Bopara under curfew. The village has 600 Muslim voters and 3400 other voters. Mr. Arvind Singh told that the trouble began from village Kawal on August 27, when a Jat (Hindu) girl was teased by a Muslim youth. When girl complained to her brother, he and his cousin went to the home of the youth The youth had a knife (as Arvind stated).  These brothers took away the knife and killed the Muyslim youth. Family and neighbors retaliated by killing both of them. This led to area wide tensions. Violence took place in Shamli and a few places. Narrating all this he became agitated. By then several other villagers joined. They also looked agitated, specially about the violence in Mahapanchayat, held a day before..

The Mahapanchayat was called by Jat dominated Bhartiya Kissan Union and attended by a BJP MLA. It demanded strong actions against the Muslim culprits. While they were returning, violence erupted near Joly and a few other places. Ten people are reported to have been killed and many more injured. Today also some people were talking of sporadic firing. Army has been called in Muzaffarnagar and a few places. Bopara had no violence but people's minds are agitating. This is a very depressing situation when innocent masses have to hide themselves in fear and miscreants reign supreme. From Mansoorpur we took passenger train at 3 PM to Delhi. In the train we met a drunk person, who started abusing a Muslim vendor. As I tried to stop him, he said let Narendra Modi come, we will teach these Muslims a lesson. However, other passengers saw reason in my arguments and this fellow also cooled down a little...