Mumbai:
Six policemen have been arrested for allegedly indulging in vandalism during the communal riots in Machchli Bazaar in Dhule, Maharashtra on January 6. Six people had died and more than 200, including policemen, were injured.
"Four State Reserve Police Force personnel and two Maharashtra Police officials have been arrested, besides four civilians, for their involvement in the riots," a police official said. They have been charged with vandalizing property, looting, among other things.
A riot victim had allegedly recorded the riots on a cell-phone showing a group of policemen vandalising property. A citizen's fact-finding committee, which had visited Dhule a few days ago, released the footage to the media.
The video clips show policemen damaging property and even firing above the waist during the Dhule riots. The police manual says that cops, when forced in extreme circumstances to fire in order to restore law and order, have to shoot below waist level to ensure minimum casualty.
Superintendent of Police, Pradeep Deshpande, who was among the 13 officers and the 111 policemen who received injuries had told NDTV, "The mobs on both sides were aggressive. Most officers and men have received stone-pelting injuries and other injuries from acid bottles. Police had to intervene and that is why we were the targets. Force was used as per guidelines and the firing was targeted only at the rioters."
However, activists, who have formed a fact-finding team, claim this is not true and the police did open fire indiscriminately in which women were also hurt.
The trouble began that day with an altercation between two groups at a restaurant. One said the other had not paid a bill for food. Soon the area turned into a battlefield, with mobs on both sides pelting stones. The authorities say 40 homes belonging to Muslims were completely destroyed and 17 homes belonging to Hindu families were damaged.