Punish the Guilty (Hari Masjid)

On January 10, 1993 policemen led by then sub-inspector Kapse fired several rounds against innocent Muslims praying inside the Hari Masjid within the Rafi Ahmed KidwaiMargSewri jurisdiction. Six persons were killed and while there were several witnesses to the incident, FarooqMapkar is the only one who has stood firm. The incident reported by newspapers, was brought to public consciousness by the SrikishnaCommisison report in 1998; and it remains  an active case in court, due to the dogged persistence of the survivor, FarooqMapkar.

The Hari Masjid case is a perfect illustration of the way the State protects delinquent policemen;  In 2006-2007, RTI inquiries by activist Teesta Setalvad revealed that in CR No 17 of 1993,RAK Marg Police subinspector NK Kapse’s act of unprovoked firing at Hilal Masjid [Hari Masjid] that killed six Muslimsthe state not only failed to act on the Justice BN Srikrishna Commission recommendations –Kapse was simply exonerated through a departmentalinquiry on November 20, 2002. The RTI investigation further revealed that he  has since been promoted. In an act of open defiance, PSI Kapse did not even appear before Justice Srikrishna.

 To protect a police sub-inspector from prosecution, the Congress-NCP government even rushed to the Supreme Court to stay the CBI inquiry into the incident ordered by the Bombay High Court.  The Supreme Court rejected the government’s petition and refused to grant a stay, saying that the Hari Masjid case was an ``extraordinary case’’

 The police failed, the CBI dithered..Kapse, the policemen guilty of criminal acts, hasn’t faced a day’s suspension. The entire might of the `secular’ State is behind him. Whom does Mapkar have on his side? A few lawyers, Hindu and Muslim, who have fought free of charge – led by senior counsel Vijay radhan and Yusuf Muchhala ; friends and fellow activists, determined to see the struggle to its bitter end.