Vishnu Sahai commission finds SP, BJP hand in Muzaffarnagar riots

LUCKNOW: The Justice (retd) Vishnu Sahai commission inquiring the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, in which more than 60 people were killed and around 50,000 rendered homeless, has indicted local members of the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and BJP for their role in the carnage, and also blamed senior police and administrative officials posted in the district for lapses that led to the deadly spiral of violence.

The Justice (retd) Sahai commission, which was ap pointed by the SP government, submitted its report to UP governor Ram Naik on Wednesday . Talking to TOI, Naik said the report would be sent to chief minister Akhi lesh Yadav for further action."The commission has handed over the first copy of the report. It will be sent to the state government for necessary action soon," Naik said. Apart from Sahai, secretary to the inquiry commission, Dilip Kumar, was also present at the Raj Bhavan when the report was submitted. Although the contents of the report have not been made public, sources told TOI that it has held SP and BJP politicians responsible for fuelling the fire that singed not only Muzaffarnagar but five other west UP districts in September 2013.

In his 775-page report, di vided into six chapters, Sahai, a former chief justice of the Allahabad high court, recorded 377 witnesses from the pub lic and members of various political parties and 100 gov ernment offices.

He questioned then DGP Devraj Nagar, the IG and DIG of Meerut and district magistrates and the SPs of all the five riot-affected districts.