[Reader-list] real people behind terror attacks

[Javed]

Please look at some of the frightening facts in this letter:
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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA

September 15, 2008
New Delhi

Dear Dr. Manmohan Singh,

The blasts in Delhi (September 12, 2008) are another in the series of
tragic blasts in which scores of people have been killed. We strongly
condemn the blasts and demand a proper, unbiased investigation into
the same. We demand that the guilty be punished. At the same time it
seems that our investigating agencies are ignoring some thing very
crucial in the matters of investigating the acts of terror.

The acts of terror have been occurring and Home Ministry is watching
helplessly. While the current investigation is totally focused around
SIMI, many an alleged culprits have been put behind the bars, despite
which now some unknown entity Indian Mujahideen seems to have been
projected as being responsible for the current ones. At the same time
another stark truth is being deliberately sidelined and undermined.
And that relates to the blasts done by Bajrang Dal and Hindu Jagran
Samiti. We fail to understand as to why the investigation authorities
are turning a blind eye to some of the well established facts.

1. In a serious case of blasts in Nanded in April 2006 two Bajarang
Dal workers died when making bombs. Similar incidents of bomb blasts
were witnessed in many places around that time, Parabhani, Jalna and
Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Most of these were in front of the mosques.
The Nanded investigation 'leads' were not followed. On the contrary
the investigation in that direction was not pursued at all. The
attitude of police in this investigation has been totally lax. Social
activists made the complaint about this to Human Rights commission.
The commission summoned the Superintendent of police, Nanded, in its
hearing held on 17th June. The SP failed to turn up for hearing! There
seems to be a deliberate cover up of this important finding of
Maharashtra Anti terrorist Squad. ATS did investigate the links of the
dead with Bajrang Dal, an RSS affiliate. At the same time the injured
were visited in the hospital by the top brass of local BJP and
associates. Local BJP MP told the police not to harass those related
to the culprits in the wake of the Bajrang Dal involvement in the bomb
making. In Nanded, ATS also found fake moustache and pajama kurta, the
idea being that the culprits will dress like a Muslim while doing
these black deeds.

2. A bomb blast took place at the RSS office at Tenkasi, in the
Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu on January 24. After a thorough
investigation, the Tamilnadu Police had arrested 7 persons belonging
to Sangh Parivar outfits. They had confessed that they indulged in
this terror act to instigate the local Hindu population against the
Muslims. On further investigation, the Tamilnadu Police arrested Siva
Alias Sivanandam, who is the General Secretary of Hindu Munnani at
Kadayanallur, a neighbouring town of Tenkasi. Formed in 1980, Hindu
Munnani is a frontal organisation of Sangh Parivar operating in
Tamilnadu. Siva, who has earlier worked in quarries in the neighboring
state of Kerala had supplied the ammonium nitrate and other raw
materials for preparing the bombs.

3. The bombs which exploded in Gadkari Rangayatan on 4th June 2008
injured seven people. Again Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad succeeded
in nabbing the culprits. The culprits were part of Hindu Janjagaran
Samiti (HJS), an outfit of Sanatana Ashram in Panvel. These culprits
were also involved in other blasts, in Vashi, Panvel and Ratnagiri. We
have not heard anything about the further tracing of this very
important lead.

4. On 24th August, in Kanpur two Bajrang Dal workers died while making
bombs. Rajiv alias Piyush Mishra and Bhupinder Singh were killed while
making crude bombs on Sunday afternoon.

On 25th August, Monday, police recovered some crude hand grenades,
lead oxide, red lead, potassium nitrate, bomb pins, timers and
batteries from the spot, inside a hostel in Kalyanpur area of Kanpur,
about 80 km from Lucknow. No further investigation, why?

Every time there is a bomb blast immediately the agencies and the
media declare that it is done by some Muslim organization without any
proof. Hundreds of innocent young boys are picked up, what follows are
illegal detentions, torture, arrests, harassment of families, forcing
the families and victims to sign blank papers. For years these
helpless victims are tortured in jails, denied legal aid, even lawyers
who try and fight their cases are attacked openly in courts. Their
images tarnished for life time. If they are lucky they get let off
after years as neither the agencies or the police have any proof
against them. The cacophony of stricter laws rises so that a police
can extract a confession by third degree torture and present that as
evidence.  Through this systematic vilification campaign the process
of demonization of minorities continued unabated.

If we look at the timing of the terror attacks it is very clear that
one and only one political outfit is gaining from it and that is
Sangh. With their eyes on the central government their agenda of
polarizing the voter is going ahead successfully.

On the other hand there are constant attacks on minorities on one
pretext or another. Orissa thousands of Christians have been attacked,
rendered homeless, their homes ransacked and looted and burnt down,
churches attacked and even orphanages are not left alone.

Karnataka a similar picture is emerging. We have personally briefed
very senior people in the government and the Congress party about the
Karnataka situation and that it might explode but nothing was done and
we have seen what has happened yesterday.

While we write to you now, the police are firing at Muslims in
Yakutpura in Vadodara. Yesterday during the Ganpati procession a local
dargah was broken down and shops of Muslims looted and ransacked.
Already one boy has died and many are injured.

Last few days the only Muslim village Nandepeda in the Dangs, Gujarat
has been attacked, ransacked. Villagers have been beaten up brutally
including women and children. All men have fled to the jungles. The
police not only took away all the goods but before going they poured
kerosene into the eatable good so that they could not eat anything
too. A proposed VHP rally today was stopped after spending 4 hours on
the phone and pressuring various police departments.

UPA had formed the National Integration Council under tremendous
pressure. The first agenda papers which were prepared, if you
remember, were highly communal and objectionable. A number of us had
raised it during the meeting and the Home Minister had replied' treat
them as scrap' in your presence. Probably the Home Minister realized
that people like us were too uncomfortable to have in the NIC, who
would raise these questions. The NIC was never convened again. It was
supposed to meet every six months.

The country unfortunately has been given on a platter to the Sangh and
the government looks helplessly in providing security to ordinary
citizens whether they are victims of terror attacks or victims of the
constant attacks by the Sangh Parivar's various outfits.

We hope you will intervene and question why are such clear cases of
involvement of RSS affiliates in terror attacks being ignored. It
seems the investigating authorities deliberately want to cover up the
role of RSS affiliates in these acts of terror. Can the real truth
behind the dastardly acts come out without properly investigating
these incidents, where the culprits' involvement is very clear? We
urge upon you to instruct the investigating authorities to pursue the
investigation in an unbiased, honest and professional manner. The life
of innocent citizens is at stake and such irresponsible cover will
definitely prevent the real truth from coming out. For the sake of
fairness, honesty and the values of our constitution, we need to
pursue these cases in their logical direction.

Can we look forward to you, Mr. Prime Minister to make your Government
to rise above partisan attitude and unravel the truth behind the
blasts which are rocking the country in a painful way?

Sincerely

Shabnam Hashmi, Member, National Integration Council

Ram Puniyani, Social Activist, and writer