Mumbai, Jun 17 A key witness in the Suleman Bakery police firing incident, which occurred during the 1993 Mumbai riots, told a court here on Wednesday that police personnel stormed into their madrassa room and began violently assaulting students and their teacher.
The witness, who is now 50 years old, said the police hit him with a rifle butt behind his head, due to which he lost consciousness and remained comatose for a few months.
At least six policemen are accused of opening fire indiscriminately inside the Suleman Bakery in south Mumbai during the 1993 Mumbai riots, killing nine persons.
While the incident took place in 1993, an FIR was registered only in 2001 after witnesses, including some bakery workers, teachers and students of a nearby madrassa gave statements before the Justice B N Srikrishna Commission, which probed the Mumbai riots.
The witness, who was a madrassa student, recollected that the police hit him on his head with their rifle.
"They also hit our teacher. He was lame and couldn't run away," the witness testified.
Recounting the horror, the 50-year-old man said that there were 200-225 students aged eight to 22 years inside the three-storey madrassa building.
Following lunch, the main gate was locked from the inside to ensure the students' safety during the prevailing communal tensions.
"After 12 pm, we heard sounds and heard the door being broken. Police came up firing," the witness told the court.
Police entered the room and began violently assaulting the students and their teacher.
The witness recounted being struck repeatedly with rifle butts and lathis, and being kicked by booted officers.
"Police hit me with their rifle butt behind my head and on both sides of my head...I still have pain to this day," he said.
The witness stated that the assault was so severe that he lost consciousness on the spot and remained comatose or semi-conscious for a few months.
Initially, 17 policemen including then joint commissioner of police R D Tyagi were named in the case. But Tyagi and nine others were discharged by the trial court for lack of evidence.
The policemen's defence is they fired only in retaliation when there was firing from inside on the police team raiding the bakery.
Around 900 people died in riots in Mumbai following the demolition of Babri masjid in Ayodhya in December 1992.
