Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
OPINION
By M. A .Rasheed
The horrific mob lynching of three persons two of them Sadhus and their driver in the Palgar District of Maharashtra has shaken the hearts of every peace loving Indians. The way in which the Vigilantes in the tribal belt of Palgar mercilessly thrashed the old age Sadhus which have raised the question on the very presence of these protection groups who are patronized and groomed by various political parties and outfits.
In the beginning some toxic media channel supported by so called Nationalist and Hindutva ideology inclined panelist tried to give Palgar lynching a communal twist. But fake news verification platforms like Alt news after verification of the videos said that nothing of that sort is audible and rejected any presence of communal angle.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has to come live on Facebook to stem the communal twist being given by the opposition parties led by the BJP, explaining that it was a case of mistaken identity and the location where it has taken place is far away remote area inhabited by Adivasi’s with difficult terrain. He said that over 100 people have been arrested and case has been handed over to the Maharashtra CID. It is to be noted that within the periphery of ten kilometer radius there is no presence of any Muslims.
Few days ago Adivasi’s created their vigilant group on hearing a rumor that gangs are operating in their regions who are kidnapping the kids and trading in Human organs.
There is an old saying “You will reap what you Sow”. Since 2014 there has been a steep rise in the mob lynching incidents throughout India. The mob Lynching was being carried on numerous issues and by various Vigilantes targeting people from the minority communities.
Each time a tragic mob lynching takes place it was vociferously condemn by various Political Parties, Human Rights Activists and Organizations apart from Community leaders. While condemning the Lynching they have repeatedly requested and pleaded the Government of India to ban the so called self-vigilantes and take actions against root cause of this jingoism.
But some BJP leaders refuse to condemn the Vigilantes like “Gaourakshaks”, “Gharvapasi Gangs” and “Prevention of Love Jihad” which were involved in the mob lynching. Instead they used to defend them time and again on the prime time of the TV Channels. The main accused in a mob lynching were garlanded and accorded heroic welcome after their release on bail and others were given front row seats in the party function thus acclaiming their acts. They have promoted the Vigilantism and now it has returned back to them. Why to make hue and cry after various vigilantes were being patronized by some BJP leaders all over India.
In this regard my views and advice to the Telangan State Police abstain from promoting Vigilantism in the form of Volunteers or Friends of Police in the crucial time when the country is in the grip of Pandemic Novel Corona Virus Covid-19. Citing the news in various newspapers in the last week he said that certain persons presenting themselves as Police volunteers were checking vehicular traffic for driving license travel passes amid enforcement of the Lockdown and said to have obtained permission to volunteer the situation in presence and absence of Police officials who are posted to guard the duty.
The incident of Alair Check post where Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteers were seen checking vehicular traffic in their uniform holding lathis having ID of the volunteer stating “Government of Telangana Revenue Department, Kamareddy District, Emergency Duty, Covid-19 with the photograph. In another incident at “Hari Bowli Cross Road, under Moghalpura Police station limits, private persons claiming to be volunteers in the absence of Police created havoc and unrest by beating peoples with lathis claiming to be Police volunteers guarding in the absence of Police Officials.
Without legal authority the volunteers cannot take the law in their hand and beat the people or harass them in the presence or absence of the law enforcing authorities. This will promote vigilantism which can be poisonous for the Telangana State.
(Mohammed Abdul Rasheed is a senior Advocate in Telangana High Court.)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this Article are the personal opinion of the author. The fact and opinions appearing in this article do not reflect the views of Newslines and Newslines does not assume responsibility or liability for the same.
