Audhootnagar Makkarpura

Place: Audhootnagar Makkarpura, Vadodara
Witnesses: Mohammed Shakoor, Taj Mohammed Raees, Anwar Namdar Khan, Mehmood Alam, Shafqat Khan Pathan, Shakir Bhai Jabbar Bhai Pathan, Naushad Khan Pathan

During the attacks in Vadodara, our homes in Audhootnagar had been burnt. We had taken refuge in a camp. Between 2-2.30 p.m. on March 17, we took police protection and went to check out the status of our house. PSI Varecha, two junior officers and four constables accompanied us. We went to our houses, and were trying to retrieve some of our belongings, when a mob of 5-6,000 set upon us. They placed pipes across the road to prevent the jeep from leaving.

The police just sat there instead of defending us. PSI Varecha actually said to the mob, "Dus minute mein sab patado" ("You have 10 minutes to do your job.") He did not use any tear gas or fire to disperse the mob. The mob attacked us with pipes, swords and dhariyas and we received no protection from the police. We recognised Raju and some others from the locality. In the violence, Munna Bhai (25-year-old) and Mushtaq Ahmed Nisar Ahmed (45-year-old) were killed.

The accused: Niraj Jain (VHP mahamantri); Kaushik Shah, Shailesh Sota (deputy mayor), Jatin Vyas (Bajrang Dal), Nagarjuna (from Ajwa Road), Jayesh Bhatt, Ajay Dave, Raju.

Policemen indicted: PSI Varecha, two junior officers and four constables.