Author: Correspondent
Publication: The Asian Age
Date: October 18, 2008
Introduction: It is strange that the police
could not trace Sabik Shaikh even when his live interview was being aired
on television
Deputy Chief Minister and member of the National
Congress Party (NCP) R.R. Patil on Friday said that his party's corporator
from Dhule, Sabir Shaikh is absconding.
Shaikh is one of the main accused in the Dhule
riots. On October 5, Shaikh held a rally without permission from the local
administration, which allegedly sparked the riots in the city.
Incidentally, Shaikh had given a half-hour
interview to a private television channel a few days after the riots broke
out.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gopinath
Munde, who criticised the police for taking no action against Shaikh, said,
"It is strange that the police could not trace Shaikh even when his live
interview was being aired on television. Our party workers contacted the police
while the interview was still on. But when the police reached the studio of
the television channel where Shaikh was giving an interview, he had already
left." However, Mr Patil defended the police and declared that they had
restored peace in Dhule. Giving information on the police action against rioters;
he said' that the police has already registered 242 cases and arrested 495
people.
"There is complete peace in Dhule now. People from both' the communities
also held a peace rally in the, city on Thursday," Mr Patil said. He
further added that 383 people were injured in the riots including 22 policemen
During the Dhul riots, "three persons
were injured and one died in police firing and property worth Rs 15 crore
was damaged. On Thursday, NCP spokesperson Madan Bafna had said that the riots
in Dhule were not communal. Mr Patil agreed with Mr Bafna's statement and
said, "Of the 242 cases, there were some incidents where Hindus have
looted Hindus and Muslims have looted Muslims." After three communal
riots in Maharashtra in the last one month, the role of the police has been
criticised by the opposition parties as well as some leaders' from the-NCP.
Mr Jitendra Avhad, member of legislative council (MLC) from Thane, said that
the riots were pre-planned which means that there is complete intelligence
failure. The superintendent of police, Dhule had also earlier said that the
riots were preplanned. However, Mr Patil "denied that there was any intelligence
failure. "There are 27,000 villages in the state. Out of these, there
were riots at only' two places. There was no tension in the other villages,
which means that our intelligence is good," he said.
