All 16 Uttar Pradesh cops who were accused of killing 42 Muslims in Hashimpura in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh were on Saturday acquitted in the 28-year-old Hashimpura massacre case by a Delhi trial court for want of evidence.
All the 16 accused, who were out on bail, were Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel at the time of the incident. According to the prosecution, 19 PAC men came to Hashimpura on May 22, 1987, and picked up about 50 Muslims from a congregation of 500 outside a mosque. The victims were reportedly shot by the accused PAC men and their bodies thrown into a canal. An investigative team of Radiance Viewsweekly visited the spot and adjoining disturbed areas in Meerut and presented its on-the-spot study report in a 16-page tabloid Special Issue with graphic images in its issue dated 21-27 June, 1987.
The prosecution said 42 people had perished in the 1987 massacre in Meerut. In 2006, all the accused were put on trial and faced charges of murder, attempt to murder, tampering with evidence and conspiracy. However, three of the accused and many witnesses passed away during the trial. According to observers, the fact that crucial eyewitnesses either died or could not be traced led to no conviction in the case.
Pertinently, the judge also said that there was lack of evidence regarding the identity of accused. The case was transferred to Delhi on the Supreme Court’s direction in September 2002. The CB-CID of Uttar Pradesh police, which probed the case, had listed 161 people as witnesses.
The prosecution said though the accused had been acquitted, there was no doubt about the occurrence of the incident. “The court has given benefit of doubt to the accused regarding their identification and not regarding the incident. The fact that the court referred the case to Delhi Legal Service Authority for rehabilitation of the victims shows that the incident is not in doubt. I will give my report to the government. It is for the government to decide the further course of action as to whether the state wants to file an appeal,” special public prosecutor Satish Tamta was reported as saying.
The victims’ families and some survivors termed the ruling “unfortunate” and “denial of justice”. Babuddin, one of the survivors and eye-witnesses to the incident, said he could not recognise the PAC personnel in court as they were wearing helmets when the incident had occurred. “We are very sad as justice has been denied to us. I could not identify them before the court as they had worn helmets and nearly three decades have passed since the incident. Only because of this one mistake, the verdict was passed against us even though all other evidence was against them,” he said.
Two other survivors and eye-witnesses – Usman and Mujibur Rehman – were also disappointed.