The Allahabad HC recently sought response from Uttar Pradesh Government regarding a petition seeking trial in the 1987 Maliana massacre case. The incident involved alleged communal murder of 72 muslim men at Maliana in the Meerut district of the state in May 1987.
As per the Petitioner, the communal killing was carried out by the 44th Battalion of the PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) at the instructions of its Communalist leader, Commander RD Tripathi.
It was stated that, he, in collaboration with the UP Government, had managed a tedious and comprehensive cover up of the crime by getting rid of all the evidences, which also included court records. The trial in the case had come to a standstill, even after 32 years have gone by since the heart wrenching incident occurred.
The Division Bench which comprised of Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Yadav and Justice Prakash Padia called upon the State Government to file in its counter affidavit regarding this matter within four weeks.
The petition has been filed by Qurban Ali (a senior journalist), Vibhuti Narain (a retired DGP from UP Cadre); Ismail Khan (who lost his 11 family members in the massacre) and MA Rashid (a lawyer in Meerut Court).
Adv. Ali Qambar Zaidi represented the petitioners while Advocate General Manish Gotal appeared for the State.
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