Hashimpura Killings

Is there any hope that those found quilty of the violence and killings in Hashimpura in 1987 will ever be brought to justice? The sequence of legal proceedings to date do not inspire much confidence in the justice system.

The chief judicial magistrate, Ghaziabad continued issuing bailable and then nonbailable warrants against the 19 Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) men who faced charges of murdering 40 Muslims of Hashimpura (Meerut) in 1987, 23 times between January 1997 and April 2000. They were never arrested and produced before the court, though all along this period they were in active service with known postings and residential addresses. At the end of May and early June 2000, 16 of the accused surrendered and got bail. The trial court fixed dates in September, October and December 2000 for framing of charges, for which the government counsel was not prepared. On December 13 the CBCID submitted that it wanted time for appointing a Special Public Prosecutor. The case has been adjourned for January 25, 2001.