Rampur Tiraha firing case
Encyclopedia
The Rampur Tiraha firing case refers to police firing on unarmed Uttarakhand
activists at Rampur
Tiraha (crossing) in Muzaffarnagar district
in Uttar Pradesh
in India
on the night of October 1-2, 1994.
The activists, part of the agitation for the separate state of Uttarakhand
, were going to Delhi
to stage a dharna at Raj Ghat on Gandhi Jayanti
, the following day, when alleged unprovoked police firing in the night of October 1 led to the death of six activists, and some women were allegedly raped and molested in the ensuing melee. Mulayam Singh Yadav
was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
, when the incident occurred.
and eventually led to the division of the state of Uttar Pradesh
in 1998.
The Uttarakhand State government has built a 'Sahid Samarak' (Martyr's Memorial) at the Rampur Tiraha, the site of the incident, and a memorial function is observed here, each year.
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
activists at Rampur
Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
Rampur is a city and a municipality located in Rampur District in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Rampur district is located at Longitude 78-0-54 to 69-0-28 East and Latitude 28-25 to 29-10 North and spans an area of 2,367 km².It also gave its name to a former princely state of British...
Tiraha (crossing) in Muzaffarnagar district
Muzaffarnagar District
Muzaffarnagar district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. It is part of Saharanpur division. The town of Muzaffarnagar is the district headquarters.-Communication:...
in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on the night of October 1-2, 1994.
The activists, part of the agitation for the separate state of Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
, were going to Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
to stage a dharna at Raj Ghat on Gandhi Jayanti
Gandhi Jayanti
Gandhi Jayanti is a National Holiday celebrated in India to mark the occasion of the birthday of Mohandas Gandhi, the "Father of the Nation." He was born on October 2, 1869. Hence Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated every year on the 2nd of October. It is one of the three official declared National...
, the following day, when alleged unprovoked police firing in the night of October 1 led to the death of six activists, and some women were allegedly raped and molested in the ensuing melee. Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav in Hindi मुलायम सिंह यादव is an Indian politician and has influence mainly in Uttar Pradesh state of India...
was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, when the incident occurred.
Case history
- 1994: First Information Reports (FIRs), entails that the activists damaged public property, burnt shops and vehicles and tried to force their way through the barricades, forcing A.K. Singh, who was present at the spot, to order firing, leading to the death of six activists and several others getting injured.
- 1995: The Allahabad High CourtAllahabad High CourtThe Allahabad High Court or the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is a high court having jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh since 1950...
orders the Central Bureau of InvestigationCentral Bureau of InvestigationThe Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
(CBICentral Bureau of InvestigationThe Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
) on January 12, to probe into the issue, taking cognizance of the Uttarakhand Sangharsh Samiti's petition. The CBI later, examines 72 witnesses and files cases against 28 police personnel. All the accused face charges under sections 376 (rape), 392 (robbery), 354 (assault or criminal force on women), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt), 509 (intent to insult the modesty of women) and 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Though initially, the State government, then headed by Mulayam Singh YadavMulayam Singh YadavMulayam Singh Yadav in Hindi मुलायम सिंह यादव is an Indian politician and has influence mainly in Uttar Pradesh state of India...
, ordered a judicial inquiry by a retired judge, Justice Zaheer Hassan, which reported, 'the use of force was just and reasonable'. Later, at the Uttaranchal High CourtUttaranchal High CourtThe Uttarakhand High Court is the High Court of the state of Uttarakhand in India. It was established on 9 November 2000 under the Uttar Pradesh Reorgansisation Act, 2000 after the state split from Uttar Pradesh.The seat of the court is Nainital...
, the CBI admitted, "The case of the CBI in the charge-sheet is that the petitioner and other police officers under the garb of checking tried to stop the rallyists from going to Delhi, provoked them to resort to violence and when they dispersed after the use of rubber bullets, the remaining few protesters were unnecessarily shot dead."
- 2000: Rajnath SinghRajnath SinghRajnath Singh is a prominent Indian politician and who has served the country in many capacities. He was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a Cabinet Minister in the NDA regime and became the National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is the single largest Opposition party in India...
, Chief Minister of Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in November, refuses CBICentral Bureau of InvestigationThe Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
), the permission to prosecute then district magistrate MuzaffarnagarMuzaffarnagarMuzaffarnagar is a major city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was established in Mughal period by a Sayyid Jagirdar, Munawar Lashkar Ali, and so named in honour of his father, Muzaffar Ali Khan. It is the headquarters of the Muzaffarnagar district. It is a...
, Anant Kumar Singh.
- 2003: July: Uttaranchal High CourtUttaranchal High CourtThe Uttarakhand High Court is the High Court of the state of Uttarakhand in India. It was established on 9 November 2000 under the Uttar Pradesh Reorgansisation Act, 2000 after the state split from Uttar Pradesh.The seat of the court is Nainital...
quashes the CBI charge sheet and absolved then district magistrate MuzaffarnagarMuzaffarnagarMuzaffarnagar is a major city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was established in Mughal period by a Sayyid Jagirdar, Munawar Lashkar Ali, and so named in honour of his father, Muzaffar Ali Khan. It is the headquarters of the Muzaffarnagar district. It is a...
, Anant Kumar Singh in criminal proceedings. Motivation by a widespread public uproar, the State government soon filed for a review petitionReview petitionIn India, a binding decision of the Supreme Court/High Court can be reviewed in Review Petition. The parties aggrieved on any order of the Supreme Court on any apparent error can file a review petition. Taking into consideration the principle of stare decisis, courts generally do not unsettle a...
, which resulted in the High Court recalling its own earlier order. November: A CBI special court has convicted two Uttar Pradesh State police officials and a constable for killing a man while firing indiscriminately on a crowd of Uttarakhand demonstrators in 1994. The Sub-inspector, Ramesh Chand Chowdhary was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years and fined Rs 2,000 while the other two — Anil Singh Manral and Bhopal Singh were awarded a seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000 each.
- 2005: A special CBICentral Bureau of InvestigationThe Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
Judicial Magistrate, at MoradabadMoradabadMoradabad is a city and a municipal corporation in Moradabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established in 1600 by prince Murad, the son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan; as a result the city came to be known as Moradabad. It is the administrative headquarters of...
in Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
acquits the four police personnel had been accused of tampering with police records after the firing over alleged rioters.
- 2007: July: A special CBICentral Bureau of InvestigationThe Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
court in MuzaffarnagarMuzaffarnagarMuzaffarnagar is a major city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was established in Mughal period by a Sayyid Jagirdar, Munawar Lashkar Ali, and so named in honour of his father, Muzaffar Ali Khan. It is the headquarters of the Muzaffarnagar district. It is a...
acquittes, Rajendra Pal Singh, then city Superintendent of Police, in connection with the alleged police firing, refusing the agency permission to prosecute him without the Uttar Pradesh governor's consent. After prior refusal of the State Government to prosecute him, CBI later prosecutes him on a statement of co-accused in the case, Rajbir Singh, who was then the SHO of Chapar police. October: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, visited the 'Sahid Samarak' at RampurRampur, Uttar PradeshRampur is a city and a municipality located in Rampur District in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Rampur district is located at Longitude 78-0-54 to 69-0-28 East and Latitude 28-25 to 29-10 North and spans an area of 2,367 km².It also gave its name to a former princely state of British...
Tiraha at MuzaffarnagarMuzaffarnagarMuzaffarnagar is a major city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was established in Mughal period by a Sayyid Jagirdar, Munawar Lashkar Ali, and so named in honour of his father, Muzaffar Ali Khan. It is the headquarters of the Muzaffarnagar district. It is a...
, and announced that the state government will pursue all the five pending court cases, with greater dedicated
Legacy
The incident left an indelible mark on the agitation for the state of UttarakhandUttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
and eventually led to the division of the state of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
in 1998.
The Uttarakhand State government has built a 'Sahid Samarak' (Martyr's Memorial) at the Rampur Tiraha, the site of the incident, and a memorial function is observed here, each year.
Further reading
- History of Uttaranchal by O. C. Handa. 2002, Indus Publishing, Uttaranchal (India), ISBN 8173871345.http://books.google.com/books?id=7_Ct9gzvkDQC&pg=PA220&lpg=PA220&dq=rampur+tiraha+rape&source=web&ots=fWmwms7FdR&sig=7ZKmcWtmV65KSC-9GHXlHQ8hX3Q