In the eight years following the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, 1,117 individuals charged in 97 instances pertaining to murder, rape, robbery, and arson, among other crimes, have been acquitted due to a lack of evidence.
Seven individuals were convicted in a single case involving the murder of two boys, Sachin and Gaurav, in the district’s Kawal hamlet.
Police have filed 510 charges against 1,480 individuals
According to the authorities, this, together with the stabbing murder of another individual, Shahnawaz, on August 27, 2013, sparked the rioting.
The Uttar Pradesh government formed a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the rioting instances.
According to SIT officials, police have submitted charge sheets in 175 instances and lodged 510 charges against 1,480 persons.
According to reports, the disturbances were sparked by a girl’s harassment
According to some sources, the riots were sparked by a Muslim boy’s alleged surveillance and harassment of a 17-year-old female in Muzaffarnagar. Riots erupted when the kid was beaten to death by the girl’s brothers.
Seven of those convicted were sentenced to life in prison
“The prosecution has not filed an appeal in any of these cases,” stated an SIT officer.
The seven individuals convicted in the double-murder case in Kawal village were sentenced to life in prison.
The SIT was unable to submit charge sheets in 20 cases under Sections 153A and 295A of the IPC due to a lack of prosecution clearance from the state government.
The government of Uttar Pradesh has agreed to drop 77 cases.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh administration has agreed to drop 77 riot-related cases
However, the court has granted withdrawal permission in only one case involving 12 BJP leaders, including Uttar Pradesh minister Suresh Rana, BJP MLA Sangit Som, former BJP MP Bhartendu Singh, and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Sadhvi Prachi.
During the riots, almost 60 individuals were murdered
According to SIT authorities, 264 people have been charged in connection with the disturbances and are now on trial. During the riots, about 60 individuals were murdered and over 40,000 were displaced. Notably, the Muzaffarnagar riots were regarded as the “worst violence in Uttar Pradesh in recent history.”
A committee blamed the confrontations on the SP and BJP
Earlier, while hearing riot-related petitions, the Supreme Court found the then-Akhilesh Yadav-led government guilty of incompetence in averting the violence.
A commission chaired by Retd. Justice Vishnu Sahay was formed to investigate the reasons for the rioting.
The committee criticized the Samajwadi Party and the BJP for their role in the religious violence between the two groups in its 775-page report.