Monday 6 May 2013

Death Toll

Activists have been claiming a death toll of over 2000 Muslims. 
according to a total of the charge sheets the figures are closer to 1,900 mostly Muslims
Let us look at the Gujarat govt spin --

The official death toll in Gujarat riots according to police sources at the end of April 2002 was 552 Muslims and 109 Hindus (this included the deaths in police firing too) after excluding the Godhra victims as seen in the news report below

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However this figure was revised to 254 hindus and 790 muslims by 2005 as indicated below. The figures were supplied by Gujarat govt and this figure is extensively quoted.


GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF  HOME AFFAIRS
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-5209
ANSWERED ON-11.05.2005
PERSONS KILLED IN GUJARAT RIOTS .
5209 .SHRI R.K. ANAND


(a) how many people have been killed in Gujarat riots after Godhra incident and of which community;

(b) how many persons are missing, injured and rendered widows, orphaned;

(c) how much amount of compensation to each individual have been paid by Government; and

(d) whether Government published the said data of these people district-wise as recommended by the NHRC?
ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

(SHRI SRIPRAKASH JAISWAL)

(a): As per information made available by the State Government of Gujarat, 254 Hindus and 790 Muslim (including those killed in Police firing) were killed in the post Godhra riots of 2002.

(b): As per available information 223 persons have been reported missing, 2548 persons sustained injuries, 919 persons were rendered widows and 606 children were orphaned during the riots.

(c): The rates of compensation paid by the State Government of Gujarat are as under: An amount of Rs 1.5 lakhs has been paid as ex-gratia to the next of kin of each person killed.
In the case of those injured the rates of payment to each individual are as under: Rs.5,000 each to those with upto 10% disability; Rs.15,000 each to those with 10% to 30 % disability; Rs.25,000 each to those with 30% to 40% disability; Rs.50,000 each to those with more than 40% disability and permanent incapacitation.
In addition, relief has been extended by the State Government to the victims of the riots under the following heads:
i) Cash doles and assistance for house-hold kits;
ii) Food grains to Below Poverty Line families in riot affected areas;
iii) Housing Assistance;
iv) Rebuilding earning assets;
v) Rehabilitation of Small business;
vi) Assistance to Industries/shops and hotels;
vii) Interest subsidy on loans to affected units;
viii) Insurance paid to the affected; ix) Rehabilitation of orphaned children and widows; x) Integrated Child Development Scheme services to riot affected children, pregnant and lactating mothers;
xi) Widows` Pension, etc. The State Government has further informed that a total expenditure of Rs. 204.62 crores has been incurred towards relief and rehabilitation measures.

(d) : The State Government has informed that they have published the data as recommended by NHRC.

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1044 deaths and 919 widows!!! In Naroda Patiya itself according to official figures70 women and children killed 
However see the following newsreports
So the 1044 declared dead as of 2005 becomes 952 as of Feb 2009 before being upped to 1180 after including "missing". Some resurrection!

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-02-16/india/28049815_1_gujarat-riots-sc-appointed-special-investigation-team-official-toll

Gujarat riots toll to go up from 952 to 1,180

Leena Misra, TNN Feb 16, 2009, 01.37am IST
AHMEDABAD: The official death toll in the post-Godhra Gujarat riots will rise to four figures on February 28 - from 952 to 1,180 - when the stipulated seven years since the disappearance of 228 people will end, after which the missing persons will be declared dead.

The communal conflagration in the state had led to the disappearance of a total of 413 people. Of these, 185 people were found, leaving 228 still untraced. Administrative procedures are now on to correct the official toll by listing those 228 missing persons as dead.

The missing include Azhar Mody, son of Rupa and Dara Mody, whose story inspired the 2007 Bollywood film, 'Parzania'.
"The question of government presuming a missing person dead arises when rights are attached to the dead. Relatives of the missing people will have to inform a competent government authority like the revenue department about their status. But the real issue, because these people went missing in rioting, is that they are presumed murdered. The bigger question is not of compensation but of investigation into these murders," said Gujarat high court lawyer Mukul Sinha.
Rupa and Dara Mody continue to wait for Azhar to this day, although a witness has claimed before the SC-appointed special investigation team that he had seen Azhar's body after the Gulbarg Society massacre. "We are not buying that version because the witness's description of the boy's clothes does not match with that of his mother, who would certainly have a more vivid memory of her lost son," said a senior SIT officer.
Of the 413 people reported missing in Gujarat, around 200 were from Ahmedabad alone. Among the 185 people found was Muzaffar Sheikh, raised by a Hindu mother, Veena Patni. SIT helped reunite him with his parents last year.
Additional commissioner of police Ashish Bhatia confirmed that the toll of Gujarat riot victims is set to rise. "In the Naroda Patia case, we confirmed 95 persons dead, against the earlier official toll of 83. In Naroda Gaam, we have confirmed three more dead, which takes the toll in that area to 11."
Citizens for Justice and Peace had submitted a list of missing persons to the Supreme Court to support their claim that 71 of them had died in Gulbarg Society, and not 39 as officially stated. Congress ex-MP Ahsan Jafri, whose body was never found, is listed as dead.
"Banks will now be able to release money from the accounts to their (missing people's) legal heirs," said Teesta Setalvad of CJP.
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Gujarat riots: Missing people to be declared dead




Gandhinagar: Two months after the riots began in Gujarat, there is a perceptible change in the type of people falling prey to police bullets. The latest statistics available with the Gujarat police show that more Muslims have been killed in police firing in Gujarat than Hindus. Statistics made available by top sources in the Police Bhavan here show that out of the 170 persons killed in the state so far, 93 are Muslims and 77 Hindus. According to officials this was not the case in march when records suggested that 60 out of 100 killed in police firing were Hindus and 40 were Muslims. These damning statistics, which are also being sought by the national commission for minorities clearly show that of the 70 people killed in the second month of violence, an overwhelming 53 are Muslims and only 17 Hindus. This, police officials would claim, was a result of trying to control the 'Muslim backlash' that was being talked about in the official circles. Police officials said that the backlash could be especially seen in Ahmedabad, where out of the total number of persons injured in stabbings, 62 are Hindus and 30 Muslims. the overall figures for Gujarat of those injured in stabbings tell a different story, with 131 Hindus and 179 Muslims. The figures should be seen in the light of the community-wise break-up of total number of riot victims in Gujarat. The break-up is available for 726 deaths in riots, which show that 552 muslims and 168 hindus, including the 59 Godhra train victims, have been killed so far. It is significant that the maximum jump in police firing deaths of the two communities has taken place in Ahmedabad, where right from the beginning of the riots, the number of Muslims falling to police bullets is disproportionately high. About a month back, out of the total of 40 police firing victims in Ahmedabad, 17 were Hindus and 23 Muslims. Today, the Ahmedabad figures show that of the 90 people killed in police firing, 59 are Muslims and 31 Hindus. this means, of the 50 people killed in police firing in Ahmedabad in the second month, 36 are Muslims and only 14 Hindus. In other words, in the second month of violence, the percentage of Muslims falling to police bullets is a staggering 72 per cent. No wonder then that the minority community is expressing a completely lack of faith in the present police administration, especially in Ahmedabad. The police records also show that of the 523 places of worship damaged in the last two months of riots, 298 were dargahs, 205 mosques, 17 temples and three churches. Besides, of the total substantive arrests made by the police, 9,954 are Hindus and 4,035 Muslims. however, in the preventive arrests column, the statistics show that the number of Hindus arrested is much higher — 17,947 as against 3,616 Muslims. The police estimates also put the total property loss in the state at Rs 682 crore. However, while community-wise break-up of the damage is not available for Gujarat, the figures for ahmedabad are — Muslims, Rs 400 crore, and Hindus Rs 10 crore. 


The above news report also quotes official sources. See that number of muslims shot dead in first month is given as 40. However from one hospital in Ahmedabad, we get 43 names of muslims shot dead on 28th Feb & 1st March. See the following blog 

 http://gujarat2002news.blogspot.in/2013/04/people-killed-in-police-firing-in.html

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