The Forbesganj police firing was wholly unjustified and could have been avoided, Chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities Wajahat Habibullah said here on Wednesday.
While stating that a judicial probe would determine the cause of firing, Mr. Habibullah personally felt the issue could have been resolved without force.
“The issue is that whether the police firing was justified or not.... that is exactly why a judicial probe has been set up has been set up by the Bihar government,” said Mr. Habibullah. He had not come to Bihar to conduct an investigation, but merely suggest alternatives for a peaceful resolution of the issue.
SP injured
Asked whether the police personnel had indeed sustained injuries in the melee, Mr. Habibullah said: “The SP, Ms. Garima Mullick, was injured in the stone pelting and had her wounds stitched. Her car too was attacked in the fracas.”
The government had ordered a judicial probe into the police firing on June 6.
Mr. Habibullah, who visited Bhajanpur village on Tuesday, said that he met the villagers, district authorities, the victims and employees of the Auro Sundaram International Glucose and Starch Factory.
He said that the road, which the resident had been using for the last five decades, was the only link to the market, the mosque and the hospital and stressed that an acceptable alternative should have been provided to villagers.
“To have taken land from them [villagers of Bhajanpur] without providing something acceptable … They [the company owners] have provided a road, but it is not acceptable.”
The former Chief Information Commissioner welcomed industrialisation in Araria only inasmuch as it benefited the local populace.
“The State is an extremely backward area. Local people should receive the first benefits from new investments. In this vein, the factory owners have assured me provision of education and employment to local populace.”
Mr. Habibullah said that the question of compensation was another contentious issue.
“While the government has given Rs.3-lakh ex-gratia to the kith and kin of the deceased infant, the amount could have been more. However, the government is following a certain procedure in this case, and will act on it once the probe is completed.”
He said that he would give his suggestions in a week after studying the matter in depth.
Nitish for probe by sitting judge
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed the Chief Justice of the High Court to give the reins of the investigation to a sitting judge, as the strength of judges in the court had risen to 39.
