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Zero Dead in Assam Communal Riots: RPN Singh

Zero Dead in Assam Communal Riots: RPN Singh

Assertion:  On 7 May 2013, Mr. RPN Singh, Minister of State for Home Affairs tabled a report in Parliament about the number of casualties in communal riots in all states in India. The report gives the casualty figures for the period 2010–March 2013. According to the report, the number for Assam in 2012 is ZERO.

Facts

The 2012 communal violence in Assam is perhaps the worst in a state whose demographics have undergone a drastic change thanks largely to illegal Muslim infiltration from Bangladesh. The violence that began around 20 July 2012 claimed 90 lives and displaced over 400,000 people by 31 August 2012 according to this report by the Asian Centre for Human Rights. Almost every major and minor media outlet gave extensive coverage to the issue.

Indeed, Mr. RPN Singh’s own Government sent in the military to contain the violence and restore order in the region. One therefore wonders how exactly he derived ZERO as the number of casualties in the Assam 2012 riots.

Verdict

Is there still any doubt that Mr. RPN Singh was openly bluffing on the floor of the Parliament? His report is absolutely, patently, thoroughly false.