Shamli: After his claim of 346 Hindu families driven out of Shamli district’s Kairana due to criminal activities of a ‘particular community’ fell short on facts, BJP MP Hukum Singh on Tuesday released a second list of names, this time from Kandhla in the same district.
He was, however, economical in putting the names on the list this time and only 63 families found their place on the list. What was also missing from the list was the word ‘Hindu’ from its title.
The second list is titled “Kandhla se palayan karne wale pariwaron ki soochi” (List of families who migrated from Kandhla), whereas the title of the first list of 346 names that Singh released last week was “Kairana se palayan karne wale Hindu pariwaron ki soochi” (List of Hindu families who migrated from Kairana).
“I want to clarify that I am releasing this list only after verification, you can verify each and every name. I had another list but I said I wouldn’t release it until I have verified all names personally,” Hukum Singh said while releasing the list.
He said he was releasing the list of “61” names but the list provided by him had 63 names.
But the second list also has holes in it. On verification, India TV found that many families mentioned on the list have moved, but not for the reasons suggested by Hukum Singh.
Om Prakash Jain, whose name is on top of the list provided by Hukum Singh, has apparently moved out of Kaindhla but not because of the fear of criminals. His neighbours said that the family has shifted to Dehradun. His son first set up a business in Dehradun and then called for his parents and brother.
The second name on the list is of Satendra Kumar Jain who has left the town and has settled in Delhi. India TV found his cousin Amit Jain at the home of Satendra. The reason given by him is that the family moved out to Delhi in search of better job opportunities. Amit himself had moved to Dehradun 10 years ago and was just visiting the town. Neither he nor the women in family, acknowledged the claim of Hukum Singh and said that they have never been threatened.
However, there are a few people who say they have received extortion threats. The family of Kamaldeep Jain who also figures in the list said that his father received extortion threats and that is why his family had to leave the town.
“I have seven sons, I have sent five away,” Kamaldeep’s father Satendra Jain said. When asked if police took any action when he received the threat, he responded in negative. Satendra Jain said that callers had demanded Rs 5 lakh from him so fearing for the lives of his children, he sent them away.
Other reports have also suggested that only few of the people mentioned in the list have moved and not exactly for the reasons given by Hukum Singh.
When it became clear that there were several loopholes in his theory of “exodus of Hindus”, he softened his stand and said, “People were living in fear, I was told that this is the reason they left.”
“I stick to my stand that this is not a Hindu-Muslim issue. This is just a list of people who have left under duress,” he said.
