On January 3, 2025, when a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court handed life sentences to 28 individuals convicted for their involvement in the brutal murder of Chandan Gupta during the 2018 Kasganj violence. This hard-hitting judgment by Additional District Judge Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi went beyond assigning culpability for the crime, exposing the role of certain NGOs in influencing communal cases and judicial processes.
The Kasganj violence was not a spontaneous eruption but a carefully orchestrated conspiracy, according to the court. On January 26, 2018, Chandan Gupta, a spirited youth, participated in a patriotic Tiranga Yatra celebrating Republic Day. As the procession approached the Government Girls Inter College, a group led by Salim, Wasim, and Naseem intercepted it, armed with firearms and other weapons.
The mob desecrated the tricolor and demanded participants chant “Pakistan Zindabad.” When Chandan refused to comply, the mob turned violent, resorting to stone-pelting and gunfire. Salim fired a fatal shot, leaving Chandan critically wounded. Efforts to save him proved futile as he succumbed to his injuries. His father, Sushil Gupta, filed an FIR that would eventually culminate in the conviction of 28 individuals, bringing some closure to a family shattered by communal hate.
Judge Tripathi’s 130-page judgment cast a glaring spotlight on the activities of several NGOs, both domestic and international, which have frequently intervened in cases involving communal tensions. Among those named were: Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), Mumbai People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), New Delhi Rihaee Manch, Lucknow United Against Hate, New Delhi Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA). New York Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), Washington DC South Asia Solidarity Group (SASG), London.
The court questioned the motivations of these organisations, asking what vested interests they might have in a communal clash in Kasganj. It further raised alarms about their funding sources and collective objectives. Further, the Lucknow NIA Court’s judgment on the 2018 Kasganj violence sharply criticised the report titled ‘Truth Of Kasganj: Sham Police Probe Protects Hindus, Frames Muslims’, authored by Zia Ul Jilani and published on August 29, 2018, by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP).
The court highlighted that the report was heavily biased and aimed at influencing judicial proceedings rather than presenting an objective analysis of the events
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