Over 200 Muslim homes burnt in India’s Meerut

MEERUT (Web Desk): More than 200 Muslim houses were set on fire in Meerut city in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh during a so-called anti-encroachment drive by local authorities on March 6.

The houses were gutted in Meerut’s Bhusa Mandi slum. Residents said the UP police attacked their slum, burnt down their houses, assaulted men and women, and even fired at them.

It unfolded after members of Meerut Cantonment Board along with police reached the area to remove the residents from their houses, who they claimed had illegally encroached upon the land. Irked at the action, police said, some inhabitants from the slum began pelting rocks at them and even set the houses on fire.

However, the residents denied the authorities version and blamed the police for torching their houses.

The inhabitants of the burnt houses have been forced to stay in the open and mourn over their households-cum-ruins. The losses included not just their homes, but their belongings earned over a lifetime, including cash and valuables they collected for their children’s marriage.

Also the police have lodged a case against unknown men, whereas have a dozen Muslim have also been rounded up by the law enforcers.

A magisterial inquiry has also been ordered into the incident.