35 years later, Maliana’s wounds may have healed but the ache remains

Special

It has been almost 35 years since 72 Muslims were allegedly killed in and around Maliana during the Meerut riots that broke out in the summer of 1987, but the light of justice refuses to shine on the urban village that carries a niggling ache for the deceased and a sense of disillusionment towards the criminal justice system.

The case has been pending in a local Meerut court since 1998. Around 800 dates later, its status is that the original first information report (FIR) is missing from the government records, almost half of the accused died, as have many of the prosecution witnesses. Moreover, the report of the Justice G. L. Shrivastava Commission that was formed to investigate the case by the then Congress government, which was submitted in 1989, is yet to see the light of the day.