DAY ONE !.9....I...H.£lEE

A REPORT FR OM THE FARASH 8AZ~AR

POLICE STA -, ~.2 f1! RELIEF CAMP

When the ne ws of the Prime Minister's assassinatioa W~~ " -.,., announced on Octobe r 31, 1984 many of us, in our simplicity ' did not f 831 undul y n ervous. We moved around different parts of the capita l ci ty trying to assess the reactio"s of the man on the straet . We wait8d to hear about an interim Prime Minister and discu s sed the sequonce of events with friends and coll eagu es . What we did not do was worry about the Sikh . commun ity as a whole just because the assassins happened to be Sikhs - af ter al l who worried about the Hindus when Mahatma Gandh i was sh ot? We expocted shock, sorrow, indiff­Inence, dism·ay , ',·)ha t wa did not ex pect was what began ~ the 31st evening and for somo of us has not ended yet, a~d ror many thousands of others may novor e nd;

The burnin g of vehicles , stabbing and stoning began at 6.30 p.m, at thc junction of Safdarjung and Lodi Roads. Mobs of 10 to 15 young men oimed at cars carrying Sikh passengers. At 7 p.m. we dr ove up to a policeman conducting traffic at this crossing; fivs vehi cles were burning around us. "StoP . the group from stoning" wo shouted "They are only out after the Sardars" we were told s oothingly by the policemgn, as if we shOUld not worry about th3t. "Doos th .:lt mean they should not be stopped?" We asked. He asked us to driuo on - the police would be ~ their way, wo ·wer e rea ss ured. This reveals the attitudeP the police :Ill 310ng th o way , with a fow oxceptio~s.

For that entire night, tho next day a nd night after that, through to the 8,rly hours of November 3, smoke filled the sky, Peaoe marct, ·!s by co ncer ned citiz~ns , frantl~telephone calls • ~o the Pr es i j en t, the Homo Mi nister, the Police Commissioner, a ~d appe ol s by pri vata ci t iz ons ~ nd political leaders to stop the s e ns cll os s ki lling, rioting , I Grl ti ng 'l nd '-'.Irson by calling in the army im m ~d i ~ t ~ l y w2nt strangoly unh eard throughout those bizarr <J c! aY3.

On 3rd Novom bor mo rning, when tha co nc entr3 tion o~ the body of the l ato ~rime Minister wa s r eachi ng a crescendo with every forc e and d ign it ory involve d in th , arrangements for the funeral, members of the 'NAG ARIK EK TA MANCH' came upon the horror of burnt bodies lyi ng in tho narrow streets of Trilokpuri, a tran s Jamuna r e s ~ tt 18me nt Colony not far from the industrial complex of NOIDA. People we r a still hiding in the charred r omai ns of thoir homas ., havinr had no food, water or protection from marauding mo bs for two nights and a day~

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The frus t ra t i on ~ nd anger at the inaction arou~d us was con ve rted i n t o Q de sp erate urg e ncy to provide the victims with r e li l, f, medica l ai d, and al thQugh Far too late , security. Wi th ha stily assembled Food suppli es, medicines and docto r s . A part of our t e am r eached the police station whe r e , we we r e to ld, the refuge es from Trilokpuri had been taka n. Thi s w-s t ho beginning of Farash Bazaar.

THE R ELI EF CAM P . .

Faras.h_ Baza a.r Naya Than,? is adjaCent to Jhilmil Colony in the Sha hd a r a at e o . A l a rge and well aPPointed ne w buildipg .i t ha s some gr ou nds a nd two blocks of four floors of s mall flats wa i t i ng f o r e l ectrical and wat e r conn ections before being commi ssion ed as pelice r 1side nces. There are 144 rooms, 72 kitchens and 72 ba lconi e s most of which were ope ne d For t ho r ofug e es, the others being full of stores , and suppli Js . At its peak, the camp had almost 3000 people which m3ant 20 to a room. Balconi e s and kitchen corridors wer e ' crowd e d wi th refugees - the new born, the sick, the old a nd the injured - but atle ast it was~elter.

For alltDe abse nce of the police and the ensuing nightmar e in Trilokpuri SHO Darya o Singh showed he was of a diFFerent sort. He had s e nt his men to rescue the living o~ the 3rd and had brought the m to his police statio" without any instruct ions Fr om highe r authorities.

It was in the midst of this that we arrived at Forash Bazo ar at 7 p.m. A baby had just be en bor~ in the grounds beh i nd 0 truck, an old man with a cracked skull, surrou,ded by hi s wi fe a nd five s mall childre~ sat dazed in t he drive wa y. All s hi vere d with fr i ght and lack of clothing, many c lu tc hod on to us scre aming and crying. All we cou l d do wit h n n ~ doctor , two young students and a handful if us wa s to arra ng3 ~ v e ryone into the rooms, pass ar o u~d biscuits and c ") ndl ns , d r :' s s wounds, diagnose ailme nts and dispense medi cin Gs , carry i njured bod i es, calm the hyste rical and make a rrang ~ mo n ts with th e people of th e neighbo urhood to pr e pa r e t he mo rn ing t oa for th o r e fug ees.

On N ov B m b ~ r 4 , rno o r gan i s ed rations, a t eam of si x doc t ors ,and co ll oc t e d out s i z ed cooking vossels From tent ho us es. A t oa m b3nn n wor k i mmediate ly on a n aspect which pr ove d to be of ut most im por ta nc e - the listing of peo pl e (men, wome n children , b ~ bio s) in t he camp, in each room. We c ompiled l ists of mi s s i ng pa r so ns a nd id ontiFie d t hose nee di ng imme dia t e m ~ di cal a ttontion . We distri buted r oun d s of

,c) .. a,thss as the y came i n - 01'10 piece e :3ch, tha n s e ts each, ' i,)xtr1il.: woo:t.le ns r or t he childre n, elde rly and sick. '<>-J... . '-.U', ( ..... _ . •

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Everyone of the 3000 refugee~ had spare clothes, Soap to wash off blood stains, a hot mool, drinking watet and teo by the end of the second day (November 5). The Nagarik Ekta Manch h3d by then, contacted the newly appointed Relief Commissioner, OESU, the Rod Cross and UNICE'. On tho third day a camp officor, a sonior official, a magistrate on duty, the Municpal Corpor~tion 3nd tho Rod Cr~ss arrived. Last but not least, unwelcome visitors such as the SHO of Kalyanpuri and Rampsl Saroj whom tho refugees immediately identified as being among their attackers worb also soen in the camp.

The bulk of the refugees in tho camp were from Block 32 of Trilokpuri. The rest LUere frotn Blocks 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, and 36, As it h:'lppened they were 011 accommodated in the two blocks of the residential police colony, numberod 1 to 9 by us. In tho front building were residonts from Nand Nagari, Vinod Nagar, Kalirspur, Brahmpuri, Pratap Nagorf Kalyanp0ri, East Vinod Na~ar, Jwala Nagar, Shakarpur, Sanjay Colony, OldSoemapuri, Lskshmi Nagar. Babar~u. and somo families from Trilokpuri. In the rear buil~ing of the station wero residents of 30, 32 and 34 blocks Trilokpuri, $ometimes 15to a room if thr~e widows with tho it many bhlldzen had decidod to huddlo together that first night. Above the ~ain 'thana' woro two largo dormit~rios and a small room where 25 familios From N}w Jwala Nagar, Biswas Nagar, Shakarputi, 8holanath Nagar and ,arash Bazaar had been brought to sarety ,y SHO Oaryao Singh although there was no burning and looting i. their oroas - only fear 9nd tension.

THE VI crr MS -. :t was into resting to cbservo tho conditions :lnd attitudes of ~h8 three s8ctions of thl3 camp. 1'18 Thana alock people, know,. ':0 us as 'Room 51' h8d fric'nds who C8!@ in cars wi th cooked Food end hot t08 sQvaral times a day. They did not mix with the other~ in th3 c3mp. complain ~ d about tho dirt and pl08ded Constantly P or nut nF turn supplios. When the clothes were borg distribwtod they wore tho only onos, who ~skod for matchi"~ cupottos, silk saroos, now shirts. Whon the Administration unofficially offerod ~, 50/- par hood to each refugee to loave tho camp they collClcbd thlJir dues a-rid loft promptly to rClturn to their double storiod homos. Those who lost some of thoir hnusohold proporty shoutod hysterically till they managed to Collect almost doub~o the supplies from us and other distributing ogoncios. Tho following profiles indicate the condi ti on:

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Room No. 51 Thana Bl ock Farash Baz~at:

Rawal Si.hgh Age 56 Ge ne ral Store Owner

545/A1 Ketkari Road,

Wife J eginder Kau~ Childre n: Ranj oet

Da j i ndor Pr i thipal Davin dc r

Vishwes Nagar

Ag[3 Age Age Ago Ago

48 20 23 19 10

Son Son Son Son

House and posse s s i ons intact. Shop intact, Do not know the e xact state . CamQ t o camp on 1/11/84

Norinper Singh 5/0 Jowahar Singh Age 45 406 Heor Bhavsn Building, Bh olanath Naga i, Shahdara. belhi - 37

Wifo: Trijit Kaur Daughter Bolwindor SO" GurmQot Singh Son Mohinder Pal

None injured, None miSSing

Age 32 Ago 14 Age 20 Age 19

Owns Shop: Maharaja Eloctricals, 62/7 Shim Mati pass Road, Teliwara, Sha~dara

'"I ' . ,

Burnt and looted. House intact, No looting Wents to retur. home ,

The families in th e fr ont block had suffered looting and inti­mi dati o" at hom o an d had lost their businesse s through fire. Many had simply fl ed a s s oo. as the trouble' startnd.

A common pr ofile of this group is as follows:

Block 2, Room 3 Faresh Bazaar

Tarsen Singh, s/o La t e Karan Singh Age 45 Governmont Se rva nt

Office : Dir octorate of Inspection(Printing and Publicatio~) Inc omo Tax Doportment ' lInd Flo or, Ha n s Bh avan, 1. T.O.

Tarsons wifo i s in Punjab. Res. address: 35/442 Trilokpuri Delhi - 91

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Children: Kalvinder Kaur Poonam Kau r

Daughte r Age 15 Daughter Ago 12

Arrived at camp on 3/11/84 Everything at homo was ~right whon f amily flod. Nona injure d Nono missing None do ad

Harbhajan Sin~~ Ago 35 14/296 Trilokpuri Regular Mazdoor DESui Pay ~. 900/- par month, Bonk Account: State Bank, Trilokpuri LIC Policy : ~. 10,000/-, 7500/-, 7500/-

Wifo: Gurmeot Kaur Ago 32 Childron : Sukhbir Kaur daught e r

Ranbir Singh Son Amarbir Singh Son

ago 15 ago 9 ago 4

Articlos lost: Jwa llory~. 10,000/-, TV, TranSistor, Sewing machine, watch , cycl a , furniture, household i t:Jms.

~~ Sin.9b. S/o Panjab Singh Ago 62 OC,;Cupation: Bank M3stor, Now Punjab "and, 44 Kolhipura,

Dosona Road, Ghaziabad

Family: Widower. Childron ma rried and living s ~ parately

Helpe rs: Nono. Ho was b ~ato n up on tho way to this house.

Assailants: Unknow n Arrivod in C,:1mo on Ne:v J mbo r 2, 1984

Atloast ton ramili os f rom thi~ block h- d thair bodding and a sot of cl~th3s 3nd vass a ls wi th them. Th ey took wh3t they nODded, such Q S 3xtra unrlerlucar for b3bi8s, woollens and blanko ts, and ~skQd us to give tho r e st of thoir share to tho noodi e r victims of Tril ok puri. SOMO h od homos in the punjab and wore c onsid8ring gDing th :3ro f or a fC!1lJ" months until tho atmosphere in thoir areas in Del hi improved. They h ~d been Issist ad by noighbours wh ilo local go e ndas had stalked their daughtors 3nd could tho r ofo r e not return home immediately. About 20 famil i os Fram this blaCk loft the camp by Novamber 15th.

Tho r Ga r block c omprisos t/:lo cora of tm F"arash Ba.aor situa­tion. Th8 r e we r o 725 Widows, o ldorly couples whoso earning Mombots of their Family had boen killed, the badly injured and tho burnt, whoso ages ranged from six months upwards. There ,was pr eg n ancy in many stages, deliveries in the camp, paniC, hopel es sn ~ ss and a fervent determination never to go back to Tril o kpuri.

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Tho following c ~ se studi es t a ll it a~l:

~hi Bai Agu 35 wi d(lw 32/4 2 Tril okpuri

Dead Husband's " c c u~ ~tion: Coo l io at Old De lhi Railway Stn. Monthly incomn of husband: ~. 450/- pa r month Willing t o work. Do,'s not know what perhaps some stitching

Missing: Maya 8ai Kartog- Singh 8abu ingh L3dki Bai

Doughtelr Son Son Daughter

Ago 15 Ago 10 Age 6 Age 4

Last s oo n a t home whe n th o mobs came . Have hoard they are at 8010 Sahib GuruQwara .

Property: Hous e burnt, fans, maehin e , utonsils, daughter's dowry all stol on. No su r viving male members~

Ganga: Ago 25 Widow 32/143 Tri lo kpuri

Husband: Krishnan Singh, Ag o 30 Killed on 31/10/84 Occupation: Charpai Woavor, Brother in law Gyani Singh age 21 killod. (Occup~tion. Rickshaw pullor). Brother in law: Mahindor Age 16 Kill od Occupation Rickshaw Puller.

Childr e n: Hukmani Daughter ago 10 Mara " age 6 Ge nto " ago 2 Sor> nu " age 2 months.

Property loote d/bro ken . Gold-2 tala, ~. 6,000/- cash, silve r 250 gms, rickshow, cyclos

Shc wonts t o work . Has no skill, wants to stay with t~ r e st of 32 bl ock but wi l l not gs bock t o Trilokpuri where she l os t h0 r men .

Occup ~ tion: Chorpoi Make r Family : 33mmi Boi wif e ogo 50

Rosha n Singh .Snn. ag~ 20,kill ad . Wa teh mechaniC Virr.ndar Singh,Son , Ago 18 , Killed ,Tel eviSion' mechanic Miskin Singh , scn,ag3 14. Wo rks in f~ctory

List of "rticios missing; 2 bic yclos , J lwell'JrY , fan, Rs. 5150/­cash

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" Jasjit Ka~r: ,Age 25 Widow , Block , 31, Trilokpuri

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Childron: Attar Singh, Son age 10 Meonu daughter age6

father in ' luw: Gurdov singh ago 80 Hu~band: Gurnam Singh age 45 Driver. Killod

Killers: Kamruddin from Block 31. Gaffar Khan from Block 32 Murari from Block 31. Sita Rom and family from Block 31

Thoso who ' helped: He uman, Madan, Gulab Dovi, Puren, Bahirav, 8hagwati, Nukkar, 8haiya, Tea shop owner

Remarks: local polico told assailants to loot burn and kill

These coolios, rickshaw pullers and Charpai weavers are Lobhane Sikhs who have boen uprooted now for the third ,time in their lives. Originally f'rom Sind, they settlod in Alwar after partitio~.gradually moving to Delhi to oarn a living wage, They wore mov ed to Trilokpuri forcibly druring the Emergency and given 25 sq. ya'rd plots at a rent 'of As, 8/- per month and As. 2,000/- towards constructing a room. These plots grow into sturdy little ' rooms with a courtyard, stairway to the roof' and perhaps an oxtra room on top, Through hard work and onterprise the rooms were equipped with the symbols of urban life - a ' fan, a reFriger~tor. glass cupboards, a t e levision a sewing machine, a f ew t olss of gold, a pair of silve r anklets atd a few thousand rupe e s in cash tucked away ' in a tin -trunk full of 'razais'. The lanes were 'narrow, and as families expanded and relativos mov ed in from Rajasthan, a p a r~ area became the Jhuggi block 01' 32 Trilokpuri. Mud huts decorated with hand painted figures a nd motifs as done in rural villages, stoed besi'de tho 'plot' area and its r e sidents settlod down with their ration cards obtained through the help of their local Congross (I) Pradhan Rampal Saroj. Thoy workod and 3 GrnO~ a~ongst Hindus who swept. sold milk, and sharod thoir lives.

Within tho spac e of 48 hours tho live s of hundreds, both in the plots 6 nd Jhuggis , were wiped but, ~ nd those va ry samo 'galis' wer e strown with burnt corpses. limbs, shorn hair ilnd blood. The following affi d'avits obtaine d ove r a period of two wel eks, 'beginn i ng No vembor 5th,. t e ll the tale of what happen od to theso families. The names of tho inForm3nts have naturally beon withhold:

••• •• 11.

NAME: II'iITHHELD ADDRESS: TRILOKPURI

-B-

AFF~DAVIT

On the 1st of Novombor, around 10,30 - 11;00 B.m. a thous~nd plus crowd had surrounded our Block (i.o. 32 Trilokpuri) in the crowd I could recogniso Ram_"p.~S_a..F.0.l tho Congress I leador of our aroa who stays in 32/4BO Trilbkpuri. Saroj was leading the mob and urging to loot ond kill.

The mob ontered my house. I could rocognise A~b_~ (32/495 TP) his Father and his brothcH in l3w (Jani) alsoK'U.!.!:!. From tho jhuggis opposite our house. Kishora V·31miki the butcher, Pandit known .as Father of dumb ono, 1}i"g·g-(·-!?i:"fv·o.~r,:-·a;;d his brother, Dull \..h.,and (Congress r)and .8.!!.1!!..~ who liVDS in the Jhuggis.

I askod th8 crowd to havo morcy on us, but thoy draggod out my .two cldor sons and First beat thom up and thon burnt them aliva . Whon my youngor son and I askod for mercy they threatened to burn US 'IS well.

Another porson who was involved in the killings was 9al.i Kha~, who owns 3 milk dairy, Kcnak Singh a Congr~ss I man W3S . . also in the crowe. Niynmat Ali(Paholwan) of 33 Block' (Pradha' of 32 jhuggis) was also prosont. Ho was also a Congress I loador.

I am sorry but I cannot romember any of the other faces. I do rbmombor that Abbas was the one that pourod tholoil on my sons and alongwith Kabu wore among tho people who set my sons alight. Howevor the trauma of sGeing tho . terrible deaths of my sons has boon that whilo some fa cos are brandDd on my memory many I cannot place. .

With such memoriGs prosont for us all, I fool I can nQvor retur~ -again to Trilokpuri.

NAME ItJITHHELD

This statemont was r o cord~d by me ~nd is tho truo English translation of tha statom8nt by withhold. It was rC3d out to him and explainod in Hindi and ho has undorstood the contents or tho alono statomont.

1, SIGNATURE OF RECORDING PERSON (SANJAY JOSHI)

2. OF RECORDED AND EXPLAINED IN MY PRESENCE (ASSEM SHRIVASTAVA)

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ArrID AVIT -_._---NAME: WITHHELD

HUSBAND: WITHHELD

ADDRESS: Trilokpuri, Dolhi 91

On the night of Novembor 1, 10-12 persons came to .my house aFter my husband, who was bel a ten unconscious by th.e mob. They wore armed with sWDrds and lath is and threatened to kill me iF I didn't comply with their wishos. Thon all of them proceeded to gang rape mo. It was dark so I could~'t recogn{se them~ But I can identify ane person. Ra j t V·~hl.. Raju Valmiki is a sweo per in Alankar Theatre.ajpat Nagar. New Delhi who also played tho role of Ram in the Remlila in . Trilokpuri this ye ar.

WITHHELD

This statoment was recorded by me and i s the true English translati on of the state ment of withheld. It was read out to her and explained in Hindi. She h~s understood the contents or the above statoment,

. Signature of Recording: (ASHEEM SHRIVASTAVA)

Recnrded and explained in the pr~scnce of: (ARPAN P. KAUR)

ArtIDAVIT

NAME: WITHHE LD

HUSBAND NAME: WITHHELD

Address: Trilokpuri, Delhi 91 .

Trouble start~ d in our Block ,3 r ound 10 3.m. in tho morning on Novembe r 1, 1984 • . Thr tl ugh th -:: ,'ay mobs Ivere on the rampago burn.ing and l oo t ing the hous es IDf Sil1<hs ,md system8tically pulling out the male mombe rs and burning the m on· the stroet • . I identified se ve ral people in t he mob. There was the locel Congr ess I lead e r (who is also th~ Prad han of Block 32) Rampel Sar o j ~ho was ·loading tho mob 1nd instructing it to kill all tho ma l o Sikhs of tho locality.

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Thero was Murari who stays in Block 32 and has ,0 grocery sh op in Block 31. Th'Jr e was Nathu who :J 1so rosides in Bock 32 and wari< s ~ s n mDtor mC I;h:Jnic in New Dolhi. , Two of Nat hu's brothe r 's lU'1re also r 'ocogn.is3blo. Thero was Chand ( a woman who has a cam~nt shoP in Block 31 and stays in Block 32) with hor two brothers. Thoro was R~mu the Bhangi dholakwall q. , Th o butcher, Kishan was also piosent in the mob and his Four brothors Shrawan, Shriya, Chotte, Kamel. I also i dohtifi 3d Kharak Singh Pradhan of Block 33, Pahelwan and tho lott~ r' s brother Rashid. I could also idontify the Dhobi who us e d to wash our clothes. He stays in Block 32 and I kn ow his house.

In the evening Rnmpal Saroj CJm o with his hoodlums (Kishori, his four brothors, Murari and his brothers Chand and har brothers and Anmu Dholakwalla among others~ and pulled out our neighbours 9adshah S~ngh and Nanak Sihgh from their houeee. They goug rJ d out Nan:!< Singh's ayos. They assaulted both of them with bricks and stones. Then they put burning cycle tyros around the i~ hecks, laUghed and shouted Jubilantly as 9adshah and Nanak di e d a slo~, agonising doath. I watchod all this 'with my own eyos.

At night, Rampal Saroj and his gang lit , borlfiies out of the loot in Front of our houso and stayod ther~ through the Might, shouting throats to Sikhs.

Th o y wor e also shouting abuses and obscenities. They asked us to giu o all thokerosone we ,had. They wore also filling karos c no c ' ns From the depot in Block 26 which was open all day ~ nd night to assi st t he miscroants. '

Tho police was conspicuous by its b3s ~ nce. In f~ct, tho mor ning nF Ncvomb ~ r 1, Po lico Cons tab le s Rajuir ~ingh among th~ m, gavo tho s ignal For t ho mobs to loot. kill ~nd rape and wont away not to r oturn till tho noxt 35-40 hours. '

On ~he ~or nin g of Novom bnr 2, a mob of _?tl oast n Few hundrod poo pl e cemo t o my hous D. Our Dhobi whom I hav o mo nt i on od oarlior t old th o mob that J ur's was 0 Sikh hous e . AFter this my husband (n ~ m e withho ld) was pull od out e nd attaCked with 'Le this' an d spoars. Burnin g article s were then thrown on my dying hUS band . He diod in no timo . Th e p-eopla responsible for th o killing wo ro tho poople I've alre ady namad - Murori, Ki shen ( and his br othe rs), N~thu, Chand, the Dhobi, Ramu, Rempel Soro j and many othors who I can't name but can id~ntiFy ~ f r oqu i rod. Th e sarno s o t of poople thon procoa Qod to kiill 9001:1 Singh, Ch a ran Singh, Raj Singh, Gulab Singh, Jagdish Singh and the lnttor's brothor •

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Hoops af do od peo pla wor o then burnt in front of my house by Ramp~l 5aroj and his gang of hoodlums • . Even peoplo who wor e kill ed. in adjoining str~ots worD draggod in Front of my hous u e nd burnt with torchos mado of blankets and other inFlammablo mate rials.

Afte r ~ ndulqir9 in all this loot , arsoning, killing and rapo th o mob finally loft our str~ot and gavD us a chanco to oscopa. wo took r of uge on tho banks of the Yamuna beyond Chilla Villagc. We wora r ascu ed from thero by army jawans on Novemb ~ r 3 and brought to Farash Bazaar relief camp.

Undor no circumst 3ncos, am I willing to go to Trilokpuri with my littl e daughtor.

WITHHELD

This statemont was recordod by ma a nd is the true English translation of tho statomont of wilhhald. It was read out to hor a nd oxplainod in Hindi and she ha~ understood the contonts of tho above statoment.

Signature of recording parson: · (ASSEM SHRIVASTHAVA)

Rocordod and oxplainod in the prese nco of: (Malika virdi)

. NAME

ADDRE 55 :

WITHHELD

AFFIDAVIT - ----'-

·ON Nov cmb3r 1st, at around 1 p.m. whon ~o hoard that housos we rn ba i ng burn~ and the local Gurudwaras had boo n burnt t oo, I, my husband, my brother and my throe childro~ wont ~ n d touk r ~ fu~o in l's hous o . By tho time wo had hid oursolvos, chil~r 8 n from th3 'gall' C8mG ond told mo that tho mob of poo pla hod burn t down our hous ~ compl e tely. Wo had l r' ft bohind Rs. 15,000 which wo tl"ld taken as loa. for my husband to go abr oad , 'as looted alongwith all tho othor housohold goods.

WDspdnt th~ night hiding, k30 ping wa tch while tho mob ran around outsido killing pooplo. At 4 a.m. on November 2. I sent my husband to 30/A so th·'1 t ho could stay with C's sons and nophews wh o had all had their hair out. I had hopod that the y would not recognise him as a Sikh. At 8 a.m. ho had toa with thoir family. At about 9 4.m~ ho again came up into tho terraco. I could soo him from our homo just than a group of mobstross s aw him. Salim, . who livos at 30/499. then called my husband to come up to them. My husband h.Cld no el'limi ty with anyone. Ho wont up to thom and said that ho had throo childr e n and that they should sparo him.

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Salim then d ~aggod my ··hus band to our house took him up to the torr , c o an~ thon push~d him off tho 2nd floor of ~ur house. Thoy thon came down ~ n d alongwith the mob, boat him with sticks. While he wa s still olivG,. the y poured kerson e over him and s' t · him on f :' ::: :1 ,

Twico my husband tried to s tand up, aflame, and entreated them . to sava him. Wo me n w~o triad to give him mater, wero beston. He di od sucf ori ng .

Later, mo n c om3 to kill my yoar old son, and I did everything I could to save him.

The polico thoms e lv es we r e amongst tho mob, identifying Sikh famili ns and inciting them to kill all of us. Urchins from Block 27 also came, looting 9nd killing people.

I nev e r want to go back to Trilokpuri.

NAME: WITHHELD .

ADDRESS: TRI LO KPU RI

THUMB IMPRESSION OF WITNESS WITHHELD

On the Dvo ning of th o 1st, at about 6 p.m. when there was looting and kil ling allover, my s on (withheld) aged 18 years was tr yi ng to make his way homa an ~ saving himsalf fr am the ki l lers. But who n ho tri ed to onte r my homo Ramcsh. who lives in Bloc k 30 ~nd works in the Railway. e nd Kishan who works in tho s ·'lme gali 3S aurs 3m! runs 3 Kir ·'1na s hop, pulled him out. Tho first beat him with sticks , brokq his arms, lega and skull. All through my so n kapt askin g thom to spare him bocaus 3 his mother is a wido w. But the y dii no t stop. Thoy thon powrod pe trol ~nd kor os e ne ove r him and set him ' a blaz o whil e olivo. When (wiitlheld) tri ad to pull his burning tlothos ~ thoy bDot him a ll th 3 mor e 3nd finally ho died. When he h3 d 3s ked f or water ova n thon, t hoy h3d hot allowed anyone to go noa r him. When I be gged tho police to inte rve ne and S3ve ~y son, thoy laughed a nd told the mob to kill ~im and not to ~p3re hi m.

. ... ,.:~ .

-1 ~-.

That day w~ wa ra br ought to Fara sh Bazaar polico stati on. Five days ag o whon W ~ w~ r c ta ~o n to Kalysnpuri polico station and· From i ther ~ t o Trilo kpuri. I hoard poople in Trilokpuri saying that 'l ook at the m - we kill od thoir monFolk and now they are coming bac k to get killod the mselve s'. I navar want to gp to Trilokpuri an ~ r isk my lif o .

NAME: WITHHELD

ADDRESS : TRILO PURl

AFFIDAVIT .-- ... ~ -- . - ~

THUMB IMPRESSION (WITHHELD)

On the 2nd of November at 4 p.m. or so, my husba"d had just cut his hair and told me that we must escape. I told him that we should wait ti l l it was dard. Just as I said that about 100 or 150 people arrived in front of my house. Someone From the crowd identified our house and said saidars were living inside . The people then started shouting and asking us to open the door. My husband went out and said he wasn't a S.i kh. But they pull nd out my brother in law (withheld) and wi t hheld and beat t he m up, put them at charpais and set them aflame. In t he meanwhile my husband ran to my mother in law's house. My mot he r in law appealed to one of our neighbours, RaShid who is a tai l or to s a ve her son. But Rashid ignored her appeal and c on t i nued to i ncite the crowd. My husband ra~ to t he next gal i where my nei ghbours tell me, they s eal e d him oFf in one roo m and se t the whole place ablaze and killed him.

I, in t he m2a nwhil e , made my escape with my thr ee year o l d daught e r. Ea rli or, 3 6 I had tried to save my brother in law on e of my ne i ghbours, Ulhom I ca" recognise hit me with en iron rod on my hip. I s pe nt thG ni ght at a frIe nd 's place and was evac ua ted t he nex t morning by th e milit a ry. Even while we we re bei ng t a ke n way by the mi li ta r y , t he man who had hit me wi t h thg i ron r od , t hr eatened me to ke ep quiet, or he woul d kill me .

Today when I Ulent home to collect some rations and clothes, the pe op le of th e ne xt gali threate ned to hav e me killed for ha vi ng ma de a state ment agai nst th e m. I now live in fear of my li fe an d do not want to r Gturn to Trilokpuri.

THUMB IMPRESSION WI THHE LD

•• • 14 .,

-14- -

NAME: WITHHELD

ADDRESS: TRILOKPURI

Being a 'Mona' Sardar, I was able to be part of the mob and crowd and remain undiscovereq. On the 1st oP November, the Bhangi's From Kalyanpuri were doing the looting and killing, They usod lathis to First hit the m~n on their two knees so that they c~uldn't run~ and then on the shoulders, and, on the head. They would then pour keresene on the hurt person and burn him alive. On the 2nd of November, the mohalla people were primarily involved in the lootin'g, arson and murder. A,mong them were Karamat, a cement worker of 30 Block; Noorj~han made alist of all the Sardars in -the Block, She called J8gg1 of Block 31 a Muslim gbonda and told him to prepare the list or the Sardar hous Ds. He then brought all his goondas. Zulekhon, a friend of Nagrishan's ilias also involved.-' They would first go to the house of the S'ardar, to make sure they were thera, and protend to save them, but when the Family opened tho door, she­would call all the other goondas and they would loot the house, burn it and kill the men. Noorjehan is known all around the . block. Other people I could see doing the killing wers Jsseem, a plumber in block 30. Thon the people From Chilla village came. They would First loot the houses and burn them aFterwards. Prem, Rohtas a-nd Biram ell three of village Chilla, and who are milk sellers, wors also participating. They alongwith several others would dreg all the young woman to the park and make them sit in olive. All the unmarri ed women of 31 block were taken thore.

They woul d then ddcide who was pre tty and wh~ not, and those girls they wanted, wo~ld be t~ken to village Chilla. I saw one of tho men From Chilla village dr ~ g a girl From my block -no.3D by ha r han d when aha tried to fr no herselF Prom his grip, he pickar: up 0 stono ,and hi t har . on tho he:'ld. I saw Mukesh, Rohtas, Prem and Birom of ,Chillo Village drag the girls to the nearby nallah ond they roped t hem thero , I didn't go na3r the n31lah but romained on the stros t. I could hear the girls screaming . in pain and Fear. The men would shout at them and hit them. Some girls were taken to Chill~ villa~e and raped. But it was becoming dangerous for me, so I ran away 'aFter Jl!Iekha's brother Nlyom3t Ali, pointed to a hOU9~ and said 'let uS go and kill the Sordars inside' - but these were friends of mine so I somehow ran away snd went to Block n,o. 21, to hide at my friends house. They protected us For three days and I coma to thi s camp on ' the 4th. The police di d nothing and sent the ­people to kill the sardars.

THUMEj IMPRESSION WITHHELD

\I •• , 5.

-15-

PATTERN OF KILLINGS IN BLOCK 32 TRILOKPURI

S. MA~E OF PERSON NO. KILLED(Q.ATEL_

• 1. Nanak Sin~h

(eve of 1/11)

2. 8adshah Si ngh (e ve 1/11)

3. 8hagat Singh

4. Atta r Sin.;Jh (3/11)

5. Lal Sin gh (1;-: ':)

6. Tara Singh · ( 1/11)

7. Bula Singh (Morning a F 2/11 )

8. Jeat Singh (eve 1/11)

NAME OF ALLEGED KILLER(S)

Rampal Sarpj, Kishori

{

+hLS brothers1Nathu +his brothers ,Chand +his bro t hers ,

Murari Ramu Dholak­walla, Kharak singh Pradhan Pahalwan, Rashid etc.

-do-

MANNER OF' KI L I. I N..q_

Eyes gouged out, assaul­ted with bricks/stones tyre burning . put around the neck

-do-

Rampal Saroj, Gyan beaten un-(+his Father Mistri) conscious Pundit, Ajit with lathis

+ scythes. 8urning tyre . put around neck

Rampal Saroj, Kaunak Singh, Kishori Valmiki

Eyes gouged out, bea t en unconscious and set fire to

Rampal Saro j , Abbas, beaten up, Kishori Valmik i , doused in Pundit, Jaggi Dhinvar,kerosene and Duli Chand, Anwar, Ka- set fire to' llu, Karak Singh, Niyamat Ali(Pahelwan), 8abu Khan

NAME A~D

ADDR­RS SES OF' vIITN­ESSES I,JITH HELD -do-

-do-

wdo-

-do-

-do- -de- -do-

Kisheri and ethers 8eaten up -do-wi th sticks, bricks and iron rods and then set fi~9 to

-do- .-do.. - (1 0

3. NAME or PERSON NO. KILLED(QAT_EJ_

9. Bhora Singh (Morning of

2/11 )

10. Samudra Singh (eve 1/11/B4)

THE A SSA I LAN TS - -

Rampal Saroj, Kishori and Others

Kishori and Others

MANNER or KILLING

Pushed from the roof, eyes gouged out by Kishori -and butcher, beaten up and set fire to

Kisheri hacked him with his Kha njar and set fire to him

What merges Clearl y from the affidavits is that in Bleck 32 Trilokpuri, the main assailants and leaders of the m8b9 were the local Congreas(I) 'netas' and petty hoodlums of' the. neighbourhood such as the local butcher, sweepers "I nd aut . ... . rickshawpullers who identified houses to be burnt and male members to be killed. They actively joined ~ 500 strong mob in doing so.

The re a sons for assault by their own neighbours, 'netas' snd loc al police are explained by many victims in the camp. The police, they claim, actu~lly shared the loot and prof'its from -(tiS-operations 01' the local hoodlums. They had oFten asked the Sikhs why they had not taken to earning their living through criminal ~ctivities when they were there to share the bounty and give their protection. The 'netas' spoke of helplessness, the 'toof'!n' (storm) c;)used by the sorrow at their beloved leader's de~th, and some spoke boldly of a 'huknm '(Ord e r). The ~£D~Q~~_ -are all from the scheduled castes, economica lly do press 8d and har boured f ee lings of en'y and jealously at thG 3nterprise o ~ their Sikh neighbours. Stirred into belie ving th3t t he ir saviour had been '!ssasinated by the Gntire Sikh community, they rS 3dil y acce pted th e slogan 'khoon kD badla khoon' (blood for blood) -in order to loot t e l evi sion sets, gold , c 3sh 3nd oth Rr pi e cRs of material well bein g . Brutaiis8d by their own living conditions, the viol enc G Dnd opul e nce of our film culture and the crimin­alisat i on of the police a nd politicians around them, bestia­li ty came e8s i ly enough. The full .list of repo'rted as so il :lnts ro " ds like , tho mugs gallery of 1) B-gr::lde Bombay film.

1. Kishori Valmiki Butcher from Block 31 who us e d his c::lrving k n iva ~ to goug e ~ut the yes of Sikhs before they were killed and burnt - was protecte d by Rampel Soroj rtght through

••. 17.

2. Dr. Y~hy3 Siddiqi

3. Sn1im

4. Mukhri

6. Om Prn kOlsh

7. Vod Pr:J k:J sh

8, Salim

9. Abb a s

10. Niyam3t Ali

, 1 • . Duli ~h:lnd

12. . Abdull"lh

13. Kamruddin

14. Rn ju Vnlmiki

15. 3ain

16. Sh e r Si ngh

17. Ra mosh

18. Komruddin

1 9. Dr. V.P.SINGH

-17-

h:JS 3 c l in i c in Block 27,lod the mob

go and a Prom Block 27 who was directly involv 3d in murd Ars

tailor from Block 29 involved in murd e r

of Blook ~O re~ort 8 d to have incitGd Muslims by spr o :Jding the rumours th:Jt mosques have been burht by Sikhs

mqson of Block 30, involved ·1n m~rdo rs .

Om Pr~k3sh's brother, involved in murdor '1 nd r'3pe

of 810ck 30 - involved i" murder

of Block 30 involved in murder

of Block 31 - . 1nvolved in .murder

of Block 31 - loca l Congress(I) worker

of 8lock 31 - Tri ed to :Jbduct .sQma on o 's daughter, involved · in r .3pe

involved in rape

swee per nt Alank~r the Oltr e , olle­g8d ly i nvolved in r a pe, ~ lso

invo lv e d in murder

busi n3ssm3n who h"ls his d e~ot in Block 27 su ppli e d ke ros e ne Free

In vo l ved in murder

of Bloc k 30 involved in murder

Chckki - shop own e r of Block 31 i nvolvod in killings

of Block 31 - 311agddly instigated mobs

• to •• 1 e.

20. Sharav:3n

21. " Shriya

22. Chhot o

23. K3m'11

24. Jagg:l Sonsi

25. Dr :lU p:ldi

26. Kh :lrok Singh Pr od han

27. Ga ff 'l l' Khan

2B. Babu Khan

29. M'3nu S3nsi

30. Somnoth

31 • AJit

32. K:> dir

33. Te llo S" nsi

34. Rupl "1 1

35. Omi

36. Muro ri

31:1. P3ho l wan

39. K3 1lo Kh an

-18-

brother of Kishori - involved in :lrson, loot and murder

-do-

-do-

-do-

of Bloc k 32 involve d i n burning, murd e r ., nd r " pe

Wif e of J 3gg:l S3nsi, in~tig3ted mur de r . , nd r3pe

invo l vod in murd e r

c ome nt dJ 3 l o r from Block 32, in vol ve d in murder

Own e r of a doiry, "took part in ki 11in9s

involvad in burning and plunder

dir ectl y resoonsible for killing saver :l l people

involv~d murder ., nd burning

involved in muder 3nd burning

Dr 3upodi's sisto I' - i ns t ig3te d mobs to loo t , burn, r,po 3nd kill

dir ~ctly involved in murder

shoa m3 kor f rom Bl ock 32 - took :lct iVD pa rt in incit i ng J nd killing

grocory shop own3r from Block 31 directl y r .1sponsibl a fl:r killing sever"J I pa opl "a

of Block 3? dir ect l y involved in kil l ings

brothe r at R3shid,took part in killings

dh~bo owner of Block 32 - went 3rou.d " arson 3nd looting

40. Aziz

41. · Allls:lr

42. ' Abbas

43. Or. LQmbo

44. K3yamot Ali

45. Sha llll

46. .J3ggi

47. Sher Kh3"

4B. Murli Khan

49. Raja R.'Jm

50. Sedhu Ram

51- Si to R :lm

.. 52. Ai YY:l

53. Toos

54. Kalnvo ti

55. Bedu

56. Lokha

57. Bach3n

5B. Roapa

59. Zule Kh:1r)

-19-

took part in Gison a nd looting

took p~rt in ~rson :lnd looting

cloth a nd Ch3PP31 shop owner of Block 27 - took leading port in loot i ng ~ nd killings

of Block 32 - instfgated mobs

involved in looting and 3rson

liquor sell a r of Block 32 - took ~ ctiv 8 part in 10llting and arson

responsible for s e veral murders

r osponsible for several murders

involved in looting :l nd burning

RickshQW puller of Block 32 - tllek part in arson Qnd looting

dir ectly responsible for .killings

milkman of Block 32 - led mobs which we re burning and killing

Son of Sita Ram - goond:l wha was dir ectly r e sponsible for killi~g severa l pe ople

brother of Aiyya - goonda who took active pa rt in looting, burning a.d." killing

wif e of Si ta Ram - pointed out house s of Sikhs to mobs - carr'.a ke ros e ne c ns wi t h he r which she di strj but e d to miscreants

involv ed directly in several killings

involved directly in several killings '

invol vad dira ctly in. several killings ,

involve d directly in several killings

friand of Nurjehan of Block 30 - ins­tigated mobs by spreading rumours -that Sikhs had burnt down mosques in Trilokpuri

••• 20 ..

. -20-

60. 'Nathu(+his brothers) responsible for several killings

61. Chand( ~ his b ~ otheis) -d o-

62. Ram~ , Dh o t~kwalla

· 63. Gyan(+hi e fa the r mistr '/ )

64., Pundit

65. Kannak ·Sins;h

66. Anwar

67. Kallu

68. Bhoom • 69. Pappu

part ook in loot, plunder and muder

dire~tly responsible for arson and _killing

helped Kishori in gouging d~t ~eople's eyes - killed many

directly responsible for several murders

-do-

... do-

-do-

The only difference is that the prominent personalities can be seen in flesh and blood even today in Trilokpuri.

Here is a true life pOltrait of a politician turned murderer, turned 'saviour' who , is still allowed to ro~m free by his mentors who appear to be no di'fferent. _

, Rampal Sa~oj is 45 years ' old, Pradhan of Block 32, Local Congress (I) leader. and was the ring leader of the mobs which went aroun.d killing people, raping women. looting and burning houses and orope1'ty on 1st, 2nd, 31'd November 1984. All the reFugees from Trilokpuri stayi n g at Farash Bazaar testify to ths f a..: t t' ,:.t Rampal Sa roj masterminded the riots there (especially in BlOCks 30, 31, 32). He was seen personally stabbing people wi th a kniPa JJhic: , he uns carryi ng wi th him and stringing burning cycle t vre s around the necks of peoole who were Singled out for st tac k . He is also believed to have publicly instructed ~he mobs to burn all the corpse~ so as to destroy a ny evidence of th e murd~r 8 . 53roj ~as arrested ' o~ 9th November but wqs rel ease d on bail on 14th November. This would raise questions about tha political r R8ch of this

-seeminglysm1Jll. time goonda. It is also interesting to note the t1ctics that people like S3roj emDloy. A~ew wee~s after the ~iots, a Sikh from Block 32, Trilokpuri accompanied one of , us to his house to hear ~is version of the incidents of 1st/2~d )rd November'. Saroj sta~ted shedding crocodile t 8ars a nd made as if to regret the fact "that he couldn't , be of any help to the -Sikhs at the tim.e the mobs came to kill, 'rape. loot and b\.lrn". "Come b"rck here", he . ple'lded, "you .are --' not going to get place anYlUhe·re else" . -

-21-

Such is the hypocrisy of this dehumanised creature who is also an active worker of the ruling party. Recently he ' bTo'ught out a poster which throws further light ori his charact8~~ We reprint the poster translated from Hindi be low:

rHE POOR peOPLE OF TRILOKPURI DEMAND AN ___ .E .X.p L A..N.. A !~0l!.. .9.F_.i~_I1..QJLR.S •... .. .. .. , .. '... _

"bel hi Punarv3s Sangharsh Samiti" on behalF of the rehabiii- · teted colonies Himmst~uri, Trilokpuri, Shiripur, Kaly~npuri and nearby villagsrspsy tributes to the gte~t leader ahd the mother of the entire country late Mrs. Indira Gandhi and supports the ~ew Prime Min i ster Mr. RaJi~ Gandhi and . Minister for Information and Broadc3sting . Mr. H. K.L. , ahagst. We want to know where were the high officials of Delhi Police during those 48 houtl. Today mlmost the entire poor people are being blackmalle~. Th e constables of Kalyan~uri police station ate pbuncing on all of us in the de3d of the night. Th~ innocent people want to know who had killed and looted the Sardars of 32 Block? The reality is that the dwellers of Block 32, 31, 30 ,nd 33 whether they were Hindus, Muslims or Christians were lamenting on their misfortune in their houses for 48 hours i:lIring 1-11-84 to 3-11-84. TodCly the b13ck shadow of the police is hovering over their heads. ' IF ~~~ survey is done, it will Show th , t many people of Block 32 have left their houses Jnd oone off or they are thinking of leaving. We the poor people appeal to Prime Mintster Rgjiv Gandhi :lnd InfarmCltionond Bro"ldc:lsting Mi'nister MR.H.K.L. Bh .~gat to h.e-'Jr the cry of us poor peoplo. \~e request them to stop the blnckmail by the Delhi police.

Working Committc.l s: S:u.v"lshri Rooplal, Ramsingh, Dulic.h~nd, Mu!jh3r-n'6'g'"'1;'B'Ii~-1i-'(ViCo flresident), Is1.'1m Ahmed, K(lnnak Singh, Ved Pr"lk"lsh, Ayub. Khan, G~zi Mohannad, Raghuvir , Ch3ndra Devi, U.mon, Summ s muddin, Sohan131 Mistry, Nazeer Mistry,Moh3~~ad N3~ir. Anup Singh Cricket Captain, Rotanlol and Udoy Ramzain.

PRESIDENT RAM PAL SARO]

DELHI PUNARVAS SANGHARSH SAMITI

Many of thesennamss are olrandy familiar from the proceeding affidavits.

RELIEF ASSISTANCE:

For each thot killed, there was one who helped. Individuals in Trilokpuri such as some mentioned e.,rlier, .S.H_O:=D\~ia~:- - .. Singh and his men are 3mong those grateFully thanked by all the refugees at the camp.

• •• 22.

-22-

Many peopl e came to th n camp to don a te 610 t he si r a tions, blankets, shoe s and money. Some we nt away wondering whether it had been a good id a a trying to distribute these with "their own hnndsn · as t here was never e nough to go around and the act of charit y in 3 vitably ended in a fr e e for a ll, with the mobbed donors beating a h~ ~ 8ty retreat. Famili e s from the neighbouring colony helped with the 'langar'(oommunity kitchen) for a week.

Agenci e s suoh 3S t he Re d Cross offere d to distribute milk but did not return. The Shahdu ~ a Rotari a ns passed around milk bottles ~ nd baby mi l k for throe da ys. Springdales School volunte ers distributed hair oil , tooth powder and combs and then mov e d to a 'gali' in Kalyanpu r i t o rehabilitate those who had stayed amongst the rubble of their homes~ The Times of India Rolief Commi ttee and r. he Pe ople's Relier Committee, Youth ASSOCiation, 11 ; OUS cri3li s ts a nd garment· axp6rters ·whose own f actories had been burnt, came forward with l~rge donations in kind. Unless they were handed over to our group .for equal distribution i n wh3t Co\lO to be known B S "Chaubees Number"(Our offic e and s tore room in the Thana Block) it was always a quci stion of the surviva l of the fittest where the strong and aggressive would grab th o most.

Gurudwara Groups 'uc re nev e r in prominence :I t F:lr:lsh Ba zaar. ffi--D-C"r:l c"C5iil,j- - thre e we eks l"te r to consult our widows list in order to arrange ponsions for the m.

Politic_~.!_P_~ . .r.sED-=- of the ruling part y l argely kept away. The InformDti on ~ nd Boradcastins Mi niste r Mr. H. K. L. Bhagat visited th e comp ~ n the si xth da y. The refugees became angry 3nd :lgito t ed, shoute d crit ical sl ogans and the widows cried hysterically with the r E,s ult t ha t h ~ had t o leape without distributing th a blonke t s or being ~ ble to speak to the large "lroup of i"digncn t victi ::cs . Most o tho!' political figures (mostly worn,)n a n ~ wi ves of politi c ~ : f igure s) came to make low ke '; ' :o :' s o s c·.nn,''' s ' :1rd u.:: nt t : ·, ~ :i. r way with no visible follow lJ~ , .

It is r om3 r k2 bl c h o~ no Congr8s s(I) pe rs on:lge c ~ me to show public conc e rn, c onsn le the tragic victims, promise them 3nything or even wip e th eir t e ~rs for the ben efit of DoorAaunan 2E usuall y hap pens whe n th e r o is a flood or drought. There wer e no he ~dlines 3ssuring hel p to the victims or condemning tha carn age. Instea d there WDS only an explanatio~ that the s artn i s bound to shake whe n a big tree f311-s and with that t he victims were swe pt undor th e admi nistrative ca rpe t.

The story of ths administration is a long 3nd frustrating one, with only some respoii'ses;mostly at an indiv i dual level, providing the proverbial silver lining. To begin with, a short but true story:

. -••• 23 e -

-23-

~lmost tho first thing to follow sfter DESU h3d fitted the blocks with lights; and the Municipsl Corpor3tion had .brought in drinking water, was a colour television brought by the Delhi Development Authority under the Lt. Governor's instructions "to listen to the Prime Minister" as thoy sa{d. The late 'P::ime Minister's a shes snd urns wer e sti·ll the main focus on tol Rvision and would hav e had a detrimental effect on the · alru ~oy . s ha t t8~ed psyches of thj u/idows and others in the camp. Arrsngements For smbulances, orderly distri­bution of' Food, infoI·m:Jtior> or> m::'ssin;J ~' o 13tives detailed ann­ouncements of compensa ti on f o rm prcc ' dures and many other such vital matt e rs wo re (3) .. the r non existel'lt or tor From sntisFoctory 'lnd e ve - ~ually. h:J lldled by us. The senior

· governmont ofFic .l rs i~ chorg C3 of the camp politely rjfused to accept the t~ levis 1o ri ss a s~bstit~t~. As . one remarked, 'either we do nothing ur Wcl ~ l e m t ~ dG t he wrong thing' • . A nC3W.S item From the Statesm:ln of Nov o mber 10th, 1984 is

· reproduce d hora~ith:

"Under instructions from the Lieutenant~Governor, Mr. M. M. K. Wali, off1ci31s of the Delhi D ~ve­lopment Authority tried to distribute colour " talevision sets in 83ch of the ton relief c~mps in Dolhi.

Those 1n ch~rge of these camps, however, immad­iste ly dissuade d ·the oFfici~i9 from setting up these sets. According to reports tha purpose of pr6viding th e s e sets was to c onvince the viewers that c a lm h3d r oturned t o the City 3nd to give

. them the opportunity of listening ' to . the diffe rent pe ople being intervi ewed e ~ ch night on th~ loto Mrs. Gandhi. Ca mp authorities w~rned the of:'iciois that they could taka· no rasponsibi­lit~ for thu ru ~ c~io ~ c ~ch a move mig~t provoke.

Meanwhile, it is I 03rnt th3t · the Delhi Admi.nis­trotion :md th t; Uni on Gov8 rnmen t are r 'aconsidering its earlier dices i on of h~ving ClS~ compens ~ ti n n applicati on forms dis t ributed From three cen tres in Delhi.

According to somB relieF ~ genci o s, Mr. AShok Pradhon, Relief Commissi oner, h3s uriderstood th e difficul­ties th i. s would Cluse t o many of , the aff e cted. Thes e forms will now be sent to each of the relief camps and government and voluntary agancies will assis t in the gathsring of information. Security fears ara still strong enough For most poopla to r e si~t any efforts to persuade tham to l eh ve th eso ca mas" •

• •• 24.

-2~ Compens~tion was announced Por deaths, injuries ~nd damaged ho~ses. This was certainl~ imperative and timely although inadequate. Keever, filling and submitting the compensation claim Porms (Annexur~ 3 and 4) was asupethuman and highly complicated task which left aven hardy v6luntaers confused and exhausted, not to speak of th e' ne a r panic it continuousiy aroused in th ~ victims •

. Far~sh B~Z06r Camp reFugees were provided with only 600 forms on November 10. They queU ~ j Par almost t~o days to get these. The final dote for subm~s sfc n wa ~ Novembar ' 15 and could not have bee n odher ud to. The :~ rms were in Engli~h, the clai~ants were not expocted to kDep d'1 ;Jlic :tes, no pen 's or stamp pads were providCld, .:md each claim il::td to bo Filed . on a separ:lte form. On spot v 8 riFi c3 ti ~ n in the absen ce of the claimant . lead to odhoc critcri~ ba i ng uppli ad by di fer~nt vS~ific3tio~ officers. Th~ word cf loc~l witnessus , particularly ' ~he~ some of . them wor8 th8 3ss<lilsnts, coul o

' hardly be relied upon. Medical certificates could na t h,ve bee n obtainod in the emergency conditions und Gr which pGopl o were treated. The Sofd<lrjung Hospital team of doctors were told that they were not authorised to issue certificates. Self a~pointsd lawyers and other touts outSide thG centres where forms were to be

submitt Cl d advised' that FIRs and d3ath cortific~tes had to accompany tho forms. Many did not know if thar relatives were dead or ~issing. Many did not know if their houses were still standing as they bad fled durin~ the burning. What could illiterate widows do if the business establishments of their husbands had been destroyed? They could not ask for compensation alone ' for the destroyed shop or vehicle and most could not be expected to take a loan under the R-2 form restart the business and pay intp.rest of 12!% per annum. There was no relief offered for all the - property destroyed inside \ their homes, We were bes~iged all day wit~ anxious questions.

The following tabulation shews the claim form picture at Farash Bazaa): '

FARASH BA Z,qAR : COMPE tJ SATION CLAIMS(~

BLOCKS CLAIMANTS DEATHS INJURIES DESTOYED WI DOl.JS UNWI LLI NGNESS HOUSE/ TO PROPERTY. RETURN ---_ . . -

THANA 7 2 5 4 1 30 1 1 30 2 28 2 42 3 6 52 9 42 3 42 6 15 37 11 21 4 36 16 1 1 32 8 29 5 79 56 22 77 43 77 6 69 39 15 60 38 52 7 64 33 11 61 30 64 8 . 78 44 8 . 75 37 72 9 93 45 22 B6 46 76 TrlTI\[ 53~ ---243 11 ~ 515 224 465

•••• 26.

TOTAL CLAIMS: 871

Submitting these claims ~t the office of th~ SDM Shahdara involved our volunteers sitting thete for thr~e dai~ at ' ~h~ SDM Sh~hdor~'s request, entering these forms in his regist~r and writing out the receipts themselves. There wi~ always such a huge crowd et the office that any help from the admnistration in filli~g forms was impossible. The paMic and rush was at its peek on November 15 until the extendeti date' was anno ' Jnced at the 13st moment. Despite our repeated requests to the odministra~ion this announcement , was not made earlier. The illiterate widows were 3gain in a near hyste­rical stllte.

While the last of the forms werD still being submitted the verification officers had got to work. Thirty one cheques arrived- one day for house damage. They were all for ~. 1.000/­The claim3nts indignantly returned the cheques stating that it wasnnot enough to replace a door and window let alone provide for the burnt, inside portions. The next day injury cheques for ~. 1,000/- arrived although there was no such category in the official guidelines. Again, these were returned in anger and the clerks went away advising us to talk to the authorities.

As of December 4; some death, injury and house damage claims have been paid at the camp, but olongwith- these a new problem emerged - that of the jhuggi dwellers. The statement below explains part of the problem.

NAME : WITHHELD

ADDRESS BLUCK 32 Trilokpuri Father's name: Withheld

On the 1st of November when I wa s returning From work, people in Block 34 told me not to go home as all Serders in Block 32 we re being murde red. I h:J d been ' in their house till the 3rd morning and went to my jhuggi in Block 32. There I found eve rything dostroyed and all my family missing. I was told th3t my father,(withheld), my brothers(withheld) and withheld h3d been killed on the 1st of November. I then came to Farash Bazaar Camp and found my wife and children; My two sisters in town and their children 3nd my mother , were also there. All four women were witness to the killing of my f3ther and two brothers and had seen their dead bodies. My father and the brother lived in one Jh~ggi and my elder brother and I had a jhuggi each right next to e3ch other in Block 32.

• •• • 26.

-26 -

At the Farash Baznar relief we filled in the R-1 impensatibn forms. I fill ed a claim for dnmage to dwellin9; My mother . (withheld) filled a death cl a im for my father lwithheld). My sister in law (withheld) filed a dea t h claim for her husband (withheld) . :1Md my other siste r in law (withheld) filed a death for her husb ,~nd(wit.hheld).

Four days back I h ~d gone t o Block 32 Jhuggis ·to see if I could retrieve property from my da~~ged jhuggi • . Over there I met . Rampel Saroj who was th e re with the official~ who had come from the Magistra te s o?fice for verif' ic,ntions. Rampal SoroJ told the officials that nobody had been killed in Block 32 Jhuggi~~ ' He also told them that everybody from tho jhuggis had ru~ a~ay' from their jhuggi s . He accused us of only~laying card~. .. gambling bnd drinking. which is an outright lie. He ~l~o s~i~ thot all t he jhuggis bo long to oaoole who :liso have regular ' plots. this is a lie because we have our independent ' r~tlori cards for each of our jhuggis. Rampol Saroj signed 3S a ~itnesi, claiming that the death cl~imS were fraud. Ho~ever when the officers :lskJd a 'chakkiwala' of Block 32 to stand witness to th e de3ths, thC3 chakkiwal3 wilose name i.s Jaspal Singh, 5/0 Arjl.l, Singh said that he had seen ail those people killed. But Rampal Saroj started calling him a liar and threatened him. So he did not sign as witness.

Re fear thot bocause of interference from Rampel Saroj, we will not get our du e compensation.

THUMB IMPRESSION (N ;~ ME WITHHELD)

This statement was recorded by me and in th~ true English translation of thn ~ta tement of (withheld). It was read to him a nd Bxpleinad in Hi ndi and he has und e rstood the contents of the abov ~ st J t 8 ~~ ,t.

Signatur e of r .. .. .. ..: • .. ;: g oorsC''l :

Recorded a nd ex~lain e d in . t ho presence of:

The Jhuggi dwellers are considered unauthorised extensions of the plots. Rampal Saroj, ha~ing obtained th e ir ration. cards for them. now wishes them away. It required a visit by us to the Relief Commissioner for the administration to agree to reopen these cases for reconsideration. There ar3 presently over 300 Claimants who Gre still in dee p distress, unsure of ' whether their claims are yet to be processed. or have been rejected and if so the reasons th.refor. To whom do they go for an answer~? When will they ever be at peace? When will be state think first of the human being b3fore they formulate procedures, systems and policies,

••• 27.

REHABILITATION AND RE SE TTLEMEN T · ~----,--

For the victims of Trilokpuri who cannot conceive of returnin~ t o the giaveyard where their assailants will con~ .tinue to be their neighbours, a . policy of ' rBbcation is imperative,' In a meeting of r8presentatives,-bo~th!T)Sn and women, fro m all blo ~ks in t ~ e ca mp, we Formulated a proposal. based on t ha moo t important 'Features that emerged, namely a) that they did not wish to leave Delhi b) that they were willing to live in 8 Fully intlgrated manner with Hindus a 's long as they were not of an economically lower status .

• c) that they ware willing t6 give up their Trilokpuri plot~ in exchanga For a flat or plot of land 'of equal value d) that they did not want a separation of the widows from the rest of the community,

, . In respon s e, the poliCy. ma\<ers speak only ,6f widow rehabili­tation of their future noIU than when they raached tha camp. . Thay need a home to call. their own, and a pension to supplement · the income thay may re~eive From assorted job offers. They will have to ' olTercome ill teracy, learn some skills, find empleyment in factories, offices, balvadis, hospitals or learn to ru~ a small shop or own an au~o rickshaw whic~ the i r young sons ca" learn to dri~e. They need comfort and hope, and the prese~ce of the remaining men in their community to help· them ' care fo~ t 'heir innumerable · Childr~n,. aged in laws· and ' perhaps eve" remarry_ This cannot be done ' in WIdow's homes. The adminis­tration rears the mergences of Sikh ghettos if they offer alternate plots of land yet Pamposh Enclav~ in South Delhi is a Kashmiri G.hetto, Chittaranjan Park .a Bengali 'ghetto' and block 32 Trilokpuri was already a Sikh 'ghetto'. Do we wa'nt widow ghettos too?

The disbanding of other camps and the consequent distress of those who were forced to live by the roadsida near their dallll!lgetl , houses 'impelled us to petition the Delhi High Court not t. disband camps if the people did no t wish to leave and the " state could not guarantee their security. (Civil Writ Petition No. 2595). The Court directe d that the inmates should not be 'forced or ~ompell e d to le~ve (CM No. 3769/B4 dated November 16, ' ·9B4). The refugees w'ere able to rest without Fear of ' eviction and muster a seNse of psychological stability. They now ,await a dec i sion on their proposel for resettlement while classes for the youn ger children and sChemes ·for the psycho-

, logical and 'occupational reha bilitetion for women and s,elf' ' employed men are under way.

• ••• 28.

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A TELLING LE SSON

The first and most significant indication, of the need ' for psychologic a l rehabilita tion C"ll1le f'ro'm' th8 men ir.1 the camp on November 4th in 'the f or'm of a dem'l nd for ' turbans, Af t er losing eve r ything , 3nd undergoing the most gru esome experiences, it was this s ymbol of their identity that they S ! W as their ' foremost requiremeht. The shorn and beerdlessmen appeared na ked and embarra$s 3d and needed this piece of headgear to cover their humiliation. '

Late one ev ening a tall, handsome autotickshaw driver showed us his photograph taken prior to the riots and recounted his story. "I hid in a tin trun k in my neighbour's , ~ouse fot two days. They begged me to saV El their lives and mine by ' cu,tUng off l1Iy hair and beard. ' rinally~ with tears flowing down my cheeks, I dkL Today is the sixth day that I have not been able to look at myself in the Mirro~"; We dist~ibuted ov~~ ' 500 turbMs lui th special clUe and respect, knoiilir1g the inadequacy of this gE!sbre in terms tlf lorig term actiClris re!!!uired to do allt6y with the de e p injury inflicted cn their psyches. An ~ldetly Sikh ge ntlemen whc came to distribute a mere 40 ~urba~s ' at , the camp a month later made a strange remark. He saitl he did not wish to distribute them to those who did not intend to grow their ha ir again as these turbans would go waste. We persuaded him not to take such matters into account for our hope was that everyone would have the courage and pride to be a Sikh both outwardly and inwardly.

The administration and tha State must understand their reponsi­bility in removing the deep hurt. No amount of VOluntary agencies or s e ctarian groups ca n or should attempt to fill , the gap exclusively. The ruling party and the , bureoucracy t hat - . serves it should symbolise the attitudes of justice, secu13rism unity and huma nitarianism and not the short term gains of electoral politics. As of now, they have been found wanting.

SAGARIK EKTA MANCH

DECEMBER 5, 19B4

ANNEXURE - I

LI STS "ADE BY ' VOL UNTEERS AT FARASH BAZAAI;l BETWEEN 4.11. B4 AND 6,12.84,

1. Master list of Heads of households giving local address. camp location

2. List of widows 3. Detailed profile,s of , widows incll.Jding 'skiLls, .help ,

needed; dependants etc. ' , 4. Details Frdm widow prof! les tabulated in chart fO.rm 5. Profiles of esch household including occupations, members

killed of miSSing, proerty lost, assailants, helpers, willingness to return to their homes.

6. Assailants list of Trilokpuri 7. List 0 ;" claimants. of compensation, local address, nat"ure

of claim's Filled, re .ceip~ numberS '! 8. Li s t of ration cards, licences, c.rtificates ~or guns.

schools, passports, in~urance certificates st.~ilizati8" certif'icetlls • .

9. List of' .. infor-maUon on basiC needs for self employment (carpenters, charpai weavers, sewing etc.)

10. Compensation ' claim complaints 11. Aff'icavits/Statements by victims 12. List 01' missing .·Persons

These lists are not totally' aCl,lrate, n·or exhaustive as there is constant movement in and oLTt of the camp. InFormation g'ivl;ll'l by the people also vary according to their unaerstanding •

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