The trial court of the additional session judge, Muzaffarnagar (UP) on Monday sentenced Milap Singh and Virender Pratap, then policeman in PAC of Uttar Pradesh to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs 1,00,000 in the Rampur Tiraha case which took place at Muzaffarnagar in 1994 during the Uttarakhand statehood movement. The infamous incident which occurred 30 years ago saw violence and rape of women protesters. Reacting to the court order, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the victims of the Rampur Tiraha case and their family members who had been waiting for justice for a long time will get relief from the decision.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), it was alleged that the Uttarakhand Sangharsh Samiti had organized a rally at Red Fort, Delhi on October 2, 1994 and the people from the mountainous regions were coming to Delhi in buses to participate in the said rally. The UP government had made elaborate security arrangements by deploying police force at different places to check the rallyists. When the rallyists reached near Rampur Tiraha in Muzaffarnagar on the night of October 1, 1994, they were restrained by the police and taken into custody. A total of 345 rallyists including 47 women were detained. Among the detained female rallyists, instances of rape and molestation had surfaced. A writ petition was filed by the Uttarakhand Sangharsh Samiti before the Allahabad High Court. In pursuance of order of Allahabad High court dated October 7, 1994, the CBI conducted a preliminary enquiry. Based on the preliminary enquiry report submitted by the CBI, the Allahabad High Court directed the bureau to register an FIR. The CBI registered a case in January 1994 on the allegations that a bus carrying participants of the rally was stopped at Rampur Tiraha in Muzaffarnagar and headlights and window panes were smashed and the police personnel deployed hurled abuses at the rallyist. It was also alleged that both police personnel belonging to PAC had entered the bus and committed crimes including molestation and rape of the victim. After completion of investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet on March 21, 1995. A total of 15 witnesses were examined during the trial. The trial court found the both accused guilty and sentenced them accordingly.
CM Dhami said that youth and women faced cruel treatment in the Rampur Tiraha incident with some of the statehood activists also losing their life. He termed the incident unfortunate while reiterating that fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the statehood activists is a priority and responsibility of the State government.
