Muslim families are still refusing to return to the village and are camped at the police station. (Source: Express Photo by Oinam Anand) Muslim families are still refusing to return to the village and are camped at the police station. (Source: Express Photo by Oinam Anand)

The sheer brutality of the violence that took place during rioting at Atali Village in Ballabhgarh is revealed by the FIR filed in the case. Two thousand people armed with swords, axes, spears, country-made pistols, petrol and gas cylinders had unleashed the attack. The violence lasted less than half an hour, but lives had been changed forever.

The violence in Atali began Monday evening, the flashpoint of a five-year dispute over the construction of a mosque. The mosque, adjacent to a temple, was torched and the Muslims of the village fled overnight. No arrest has been made yet. Villagers alleged that the local police, which had deployed officers at the dispute site, pulled back their men minutes before the attack.

According to the FIR, the violence began with stone-pelting when the Muslims gathered to pray around 5.30 pm. “In a little while, around 2,000 people gathered there. They had swords, axes, spears, country-made pistols, petrol and gas

The FIR names six individuals, who allegedly attacked the Muslims with these weapons. The FIR adds that some of the accused fired in the air, which led to further injuries. In the next half hour, 20 houses, three cars, one tractor trolley, two tempos, 15 motorbikes and two shops were burnt, the FIR recorded.

“The entire incident took place on May 25, 2015 between 5 pm and 6 pm. This fight is a planned attempt to create friction between the two communities (Muslims and Hindu),” says the FIR while alleging that the accused made a careful plan to “attack the mosque”, “loot and burn homes”.

The FIR also recreates the violence that left Naimuddin – a labourer working at the mosque – with severe injuries. It says that initially the accused tried to “kill him by burning him” and then “chopped off his fingers and toes with an axe”. He is still recuperating at the at the B K Hospital in Faridabad.

The FIR was lodged on Tuesday under sections 147, 148, 149 (rioting), 153B (assertions prejudicial to national integration), 452 (house trespass after preparation of assault), 427, 435, 436 (mischief by fire), 295 (defiling place of worship), 295A (outraging religious feelings), 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 IPC (criminal intimidation) and under sections of the

Arms Act.

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