The inquiry commission of retired Justice Vishnu Sahai on Wednesday submitted its report to Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and reportedly suggested that the local members of the Samajwadi Party and the BJP were responsible for instigating the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.
The commission report is also said to have blamed the police and the officials at local administration for lapses that led to the carnage, The Times of India reported.
Sahai was appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government to head the commission single-handedly to inquire about the involvement of the local administration and politicians in the riots, in which over 60 people were killed and thousands had to leave their homes and settle in tents.
"The commission has handed over the first copy of the report. It will be sent to the state government for necessary action soon," Naik said. He added that the report will now be sent to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Justice Sahai did not reveal anything about the findings of the inquiry as the report can be made public only by the state government.
"While the content of the report and its findings can only be revealed by the state government, I can inform that I recorded statement of 478 people in past two years before filing this report and looked into every aspect and roles played. Out of 478 statements, I recorded statement of 101 officials and 377 people from public," Justice Sahai told The Indian Express.
The copies of the report have been sent to chief secretary Alok Ranjan and principal secretary (Home) Debashish Panda.
"It is a voluminous report. I have not gone through it in detail. But certainly district level officials have been indicted. Based on the evidences, the commission has looked into details at the administrative lapses and roles played by officers, politicians and even by media in flaring it up further," Ranjan said.
In August 2013, a major riot broke out between the two communities in Muzaffarnagar. The state government appointed Justice Sahai, retired Allahabad High Court judge, on 9 September, 2013, to inquire about the riots and find out who were involved in it.
