Hashimpura massacre

Hashimpura massacre
Ayodhya Ayodhya (India)
Location	Meerut, India
Date	22 May 1987
Target	Muslim youth
Attack type	Shooting
Deaths	42
Non-fatal injuries	4
Perpetrators	Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary

Hashimpura massacre took place on 22 May 1987, during the Hindu-Muslim riots in Meerut city in Uttar Pradesh state, India, when 19 personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) allegedly rounded up 42 Muslim youth from the Hashimpura mohalla (locality) of the city, took them in truck to the outskirts, near Murad Nagar, in Ghaziabad district, where they were shot and their bodies were dumped in water canals. A few days later dead bodies were found floating in the canals. In May 2000, 16 of the 19 accused surrendered, and were later released on bail, while 3 were already dead. The trial of the case was transferred by the Supreme Court of India in 2002 from Ghaziabad to a Sessions Court at the Tis Hazari complex in Delhi, where it is the oldest pending case.

On 24 May 2007, twenty years after the incident, two survivors and members of 36 victim families visited Lucknow and filed 615 applications under The Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI), at the office of Director General of Police seeking information about the case. The inquiry revealed in September that all accused remained in service, and none had any mention of the incident in their Annual Confidential Report (ACR)s. Five men who were shot and survived, later became witness for the prosecution case in 2007.

“We were sorted out on the basis of our strength and physique, while elders and children were picked up and set free. The youth were grouped together and put in a yellow PAC truck. ”.."was pulled out of the truck, shot at twice and thrown into the Ganga stream”.

After communal riots had taken over Meerut in April 1987, in a communally charged atmosphere ; PAC was called in, but was withdrawn as the riots subsided. However violence erupted again around 19 May, when 10 persons were killed as arson escalated, thus Army was called out to stage a flag march. Seven companies of CRPF has reached the city during the day, while 30 companies of PAC were being rushed in and indefinite curfew was declared. In the following day, mobs burned down Gulmarg cinema hall, and as the death toll rose to 22 and 75 injured, shoot-at-sight orders were issued on 20 May 1987.