MEERUT, June 4 -- To rehabilitate families displaced by the 1978 communal riots in Sambhal, the Uttar Pradesh government has begun allotting residential plots on three bighas of land reclaimed from a graveyard area. On Thursday, the family of late riot victim Ramsharan Rastogi became the first beneficiary of the initiative, receiving ownership rights to a 100-square-metre plot.

UP minister JPS Rathore, who attended the allotment ceremony, described the move as a long-overdue step towards justice for families affected by the violence nearly five decades ago.

"Today, I have come to wipe the tears of those whose homes were burnt down in Sambhal 48 years ago. Generations have passed while waiting for justice. India became independent in 194...