The Muzaffarnagar riots of August-September 2013 began with the killing of three young men in Kawal on 27 August and escalated after the 7 September mahapancha…
Shahnawaz Qureshi was killed in Kawal, then cousins Gaurav and Sachin by a mob. Accounts of the trigger differ.
Community meetings and speeches followed. The Sahai Commission later examined speeches by leaders on different sides.
A very large mahapanchayat was underestimated by officials. People returning from it were attacked, and violence spread.
Attacks hit many villages. The army began evacuations on 8 September, and the curfew lifted on 17 September.
The Supreme Court recorded 58 camps. The NHRC found waterlogged tents, short rations and poor care.
The Court faulted the state for not anticipating the violence, declined a CBI inquiry and ordered compensation.
The commission blamed intelligence and administrative failures and recommended departmental action against two officers.
Seven got life for the Kawal murders in 2019, an MLA and 11 others two years in 2022, and two men 20 years for a gang rape in 2023.
Courts acquitted 23 accused in Mohammadpur Raisingh and 37 in Kutba, finding the charges not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
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