The massacre of 42 young Muslims at Hashimpura in Uttar Pradesh in 1987 was masterminded by some police and civilian officials, says Vibhuti Narain Rai, a former senior police officer in his book. The cold-blooded murders took place in an isolated part of Ghaziabad district bordering Delhi on the night of 22 May 1987.
Rai was the first to uncover the fact that the massacre was the work of a rogue unit within the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC).
Rai, in his recently released book Hashimpura 22 May, makes references to mysterious meetings between top civil and police officers of Meerut and army officials on 21-22 May, 1987.
Rai recalls that police dragged 600 to 700 people from Hashimpura in Meerut from their homes. Of these, 40 to 45 young men were picked, pushed into a PAC truck (URU 1493), driven to a canal near Makanpur village along the Delhi-Ghaziabad border and shot dead one by one by 19 PAC men. Unknown to the killers, a handful survived the massacre and helped Rai and his police force to stitch together the gruesome saga when they reached the spot at night.
This came to be known as the “Hashimpura massacre”. Rai calls it “the country’s biggest custodial killing after independence”.
Hashimpura is not just one instance that can be summarily dismissed. Hashimpura is a phenomenon that goes deep into the mindset of the Indian society - a mindset that leads to communal violence.Excerpt, Hashimpura 22 May
(With inputs from IANS)
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