UP: Survey begins to identify families who returned to Kairana after being allegedly forced to leave

The Shamli administration in Uttar Pradesh said it has begun an exercise to prepare a list of people who were forced to leave Kairana town between 2014 and 2016 and have now returned, reported The Indian Express.

“After conducting the survey, we will prepare a list of people who left Kairana town in 2013-’14 following the law and order issue and have now returned,” Shamli District Magistrate Jasjit Kaur told The Indian Express.

He added: “The list will also include people who left Kairana because of financial losses they suffered due to the law and order problem. A team of Revenue Department will identify such families and prepare a list with the help of locals.”

This came a week after Chief Minister Adityanath visited Kairana and promised compensation and security to the families who had left.

Before the 2017 Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party had alleged that Hindu families were forced to migrate from the area due to threats and extortion by “criminal elements belonging to a particular community”. Kairana has a 50% Muslim population.

However, an investigation by the National Human Rights Commission in 2016 had found that people were migrating from Kairana because of the worsening law and order situation and increase in criminal activities.

The saffron party had politicised the alleged exodus of Hindus from Kairana extensively in its campaign for the 2017 Assembly elections.

In 2016, former BJP MP Hukum Singh had claimed that around 350 Hindus had left Kairana after getting threats from criminals. Following this, the Shamli district administration had conducted a survey and said that only three families had left their homes.

On Sunday, Kaur said they would go through Singh’s list and the inquiry report prepared by the then district administration.

“The current survey will look beyond the list prepared by Hukum Singh,” Kaur said.

Adityanath, during his visit, had met three families. While the two families had settled in Muzaffarnagar district, the third family returned to Kairana.