Violence erupted in the village on May 25 as 2,000 armed men allegedly set fire to the only mosque in the village as well as Muslim homes and shops.
Written by Aniruddha Ghosal | Atali | Updated: July 7, 2015 3:04 am
On Monday evening, Atali village was a pale shadow of its former self. Hundreds of residents had fled — Muslim families, fearing violence, and Jat youth, fearing arrests. Two days ago, on Saturday, police had started the process of rounding up the accused in connection with the rioting on May 25 in the village. Many people were detained, and eventually 10 were arrested. As news of the arrests spread, many Jats started leaving the village Sunday.
“There is no point in staying. Names of men in our family have been included in the complaints by Muslims because they want revenge. They were not involved in the violence. The police is biased against our community,” claimed Kripa, whose two sons have left Atali.