There is ominous silence in the lanes of Hashimpura, a Muslim mohalla on the outskirts of Meerut, where 42 residents were massacred 28 years ago.
A day after a trial court in Delhi acquitted all 16 former personnel of the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), accused of the abduction and killing, there was anger and anguish among Hashimpura’s residents.
Insecurity among members of the minority community is palpable. After the verdict, which came after more than a quarter century, many questioned the “Idea of India” and the future of their rights in the country.
In particular, the younger generation that has grown up listening to accounts of the massacre, is agitated.
Meharban, in his late 20s, says: “I have been hearing about the killing of our neighbour by the PAC personnel since the day I was born in August 1987. Now this verdict conveys a sense that he was not killed but committed suicide by jumping in the Hindon River. Is this the kind of justice we are promised by the Constitution?” Holding up a Hindi daily , Abdul Hafeez, in his late 50s, says, “I don’t think there is any future for Muslims in this country. There is no justice for us. This is what I get after 28 years.” His cousin brother Jamil Ahmad was allegedly beaten to death in police custody that day.
He says, “Look at the things which are being asked from us! Acknowledge that we were Hindus and worse, do ‘ ghar wapsi’ and become a Hindu. Now we are told that nobody killed 42 people from this mohalla.” He recalls the incident on May 22, 1987, when about 65 men were herded into a truck by the PAC personnel soon after Friday prayers.
