Maha panchayat in Muzaffarnagar Feb 9

More than 185 representatives of 'khap panchayats' from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will converge on Muzaffarnagar Feb 9 for a 'maha panchayat'.

The 'khap' leaders would be meeting in Phugna village to discuss their future plan of action against what they allege is one-sided police action post-Muzaffarnagar riots.

Village elders in western Uttar Pradesh allege that police "under political pressure and electoral considerations" has victimized the Jat community and implicated them in false cases.

"We are being framed in false cases and now heinous cases like gang rapes are also being slapped on us," a senior village panchayat leader of Phugna told IANS.

He also said that the meeting would chalk out a long term plan to counter police action.

The villagers have also demanded that rape and molestation charges against village youngsters be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"We have tried our best to show reason to police but they refuse to pay heed to our witnesses and records. Our only hope is a CBI investigation to clear our names," the counsel of one of the accused said.

Communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas last year claimed 63 lives and rendered 40,000 people homeless, of whom hundreds are still forced to live in government relief camps for fear of being targeted.