Rights report blames Indian authorities for anti-Muslim riot failures
Report says March communal violence in Bihar could have been prevented and accuses police of later targeting innocent Muslim residents
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A fact-finding report by one of India’s leading civil liberties organizations has accused authorities in the eastern state of Bihar of failing to prevent anti-Muslim violence during a Hindu religious procession and then harassing innocent Muslim residents in the aftermath instead of holding perpetrators accountable.
The report, released by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), examined communal violence that erupted in Roh Bazaar in Nawada district on March 28 and 29. The organization has called for a judicial inquiry, arguing that the unrest could have been prevented through timely administrative action and effective policing.
According to the seven-member fact-finding team, dozens of shops owned by Muslim vegetable, fruit and fish vendors were looted and burned after violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession near the town’s Jama Masjid mosque.
The report concludes that authorities ignored multiple warning signs before the violence. It notes that the procession began several hours later than the time permitted under its official license and featured four high-volume DJ systems despite a government ban, all while police and administrative officials accompanied the march.
Residents told investigators that members of the Hindu extremist group Bajrang Dal had taken out a procession a day earlier and publicly announced that all shops in Roh Bazaar would have to remain closed during the Ram Navami event. The report questions why police failed to take preventive action despite those alleged warnings.
“Had the administration been vigilant, had the intelligence system functioned properly and had the law been enforced strictly, the riots and disturbances could certainly have been prevented,” the report states.
Beyond criticizing administrative failures, the fact-finding team documented allegations that police later targeted Muslim residents in an apparent attempt to cover up their own shortcomings.
According to the report, 44 people from both communities have been formally named in criminal cases, while another 100 to 125 unidentified individuals have also been accused. Multiple residents alleged that innocent people were falsely implicated during subsequent police operations.
Victims described late-night raids in which officers allegedly entered homes by climbing onto rooftops, assaulted family members and detained men without evidence. One woman told investigators that police beat her husband before taking him away, while another resident alleged that officers brutally assaulted his daughter after entering through a neighboring house. Several women also claimed police threatened to shoot residents “so that the trouble ends once and for all.”
The report also cites comments from Roh police station chief Rahul Abhishek, who acknowledged to investigators that officers had managed the procession through sensitive locations but failed to stop the arson.
PUCL has recommended a judicial inquiry into the riots and the administration’s conduct, immediate compensation for victims, a review of CCTV footage to identify the actual perpetrators, withdrawal of cases against innocent people and the creation of permanent interfaith peace committees.
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