Nitish's Bhagalpur panel in coma

Promising justice and compensation to the victims of the 1989 Bhagalpur riots, the Nitish Kumar Government constituted a judicial inquiry commission on February 26 last year for a re-investigation into one of the worst communal riots in the country. On its third extension now, the commission still does not have the basic infrastructure to do its job.

A sprawling bungalow has been allotted for the commission but other basics are missing. "An invoice was submitted by Godrej for furniture 10 days back and we are waiting for clearance from the treasury," said B N Shahi, secretary of the commission.

After taking charge in late 2005, the Chief Minister charged the previous RJD regime of denying justice to the victims of the riots by closing many cases despite evidence. The one-member Justice N N Singh Commission was set up to inquire the whole gamut of the riots, fix responsibility on erring police officers and suggest ways to extend relief and rehabilitation to the victims.

The commission was given six months to submit an interim report. However, it failed and has so far been given three extensions.

For the first year, the commission remained a non-starter, saying it was not getting the cooperation of state government officials. The panel took the first step on May 31 when it landed in Bhagalpur and held its first sitting. According to Shahi, they were just "preliminary" discussions to chart out the mode of the probe.

Shahi told The Indian Express that without help from the state, it would be difficult for the commission to take the probe to its logical end. "All kinds of basic material needed for the probe like case diaries will reach us only through the advocates but despite repeated reminders, the state has not appointed them yet," he said.

Opposition parties here allege that a re-probe and the setting up of a commission was nothing but a political ploy by the Nitish Kumar government to attract the vote of Muslims, who form about 14% of the state's population.

SOURCE : THE INDIAN EXPRESS, http://www.indianexpress.com/story/33991.html

Bhagalpur Logai riot verdict : 14 convicting for killing 116

Verdict delivered after 17 years

The 116 people, including women and children, were killed on the night of October 27, 1989 at Logai village under Jagdishpur police station of the district

The victims were buried in a mass grave, promptly camouflaged by a cauliflower plantation.
Among those convicted are the then officer-in-charge of Jagdishpur police station, Ramchandra Singh, and chowkidar Thakur Paswan.

Though there were 24 accused in the case, six died during the trial, while four never turned up, prompting the court to proclaim them absconders and order attachment of property.

Of the 14 convicted, the order against Jaiprakash Mandal was passed in absentia as he did not turn up. This made the court issue a warrant of arrest against him.

Nearly a year after the Logai village massacre, the investigation was handed over to then DIG Ajit Dutt on December 3, 1990. "Within a week, 90 bodies were recovered and by December 15, altogether 105 were dug out. The rest had decomposed," Dutt told The Indian Express.

Before the riots, there were 45 Muslim families in Logai village; in 1990, only two remained. The status remains the same even today.