#Saharanpur Dalit-Thakur clashes: Suspended top cop also indicted over 2013 #Muzaffarnagar riots

A senior police officer suspended on Thursday over deadly caste clashes in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur was previously “held responsible” for the 2013 communal riots in Muzaffarnagar by a judicial committee.

Subhash Chandra Dubey, suspended as Saharanpur’s senior superintendent of police, headed in 2013 the district police in Muzaffanagar, the epicentre for communal clashes that left more than 60 people dead.

“So far as Subhash Chandra Dubey is concerned, I have already held that the government of UP has prime facie found him responsible for riots; pending inquiry has suspended him and I am in agreement with the view of government of UP,” said the report by Vishnu Kant Sahai.

Sahai is a former Allahabad high court judge who was tasked to investigate the 2013 clashes in Western UP and the role of administration officials.

Dubey was appointed Saharanpur’s senior superintendent of police – the head of police for a district – by the Yogi Adityanath government in April.

Saharanpur has been tense since May 5 when members of Rajput and Dalit communities clashed over loud music being played during a procession to commemorate the birth anniversary of Rajput king Maharana Pratap.

Two people have died, scores injured and many houses have been burnt down in the tension that has flared in sporadic instances of rioting and arson.

The Sahai commission was scathing in its criticism of Dubey’s role during the 2013 violence.

After thoroughly scrutinising the role of 40 senior officers, Sahai wrote in his report, “I have come to the conclusion that excepting Subhash Chandra Dubey, all the aforesaid named officers made a strenuous attempt and took effective measures (in fact the effort of some was exemplary) to control communal riots”.

The former judge was responding to second and third terms of reference – instructions from the government – to identify officials and the roles they played in the episode. The government was at the time headed by Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav.