Placating minority community? Cops 'assault minors' following stone throwing in Surat

By Mujahid Nafees*

A troubling incident has emerged from Surat city, Gujarat, involving the alleged brutal assault of individuals by police officers. The official Twitter account of the Surat City Police reported that they detained those who reportedly disrupted the peace by throwing stones at an idol in the Variavi Bazar area.

Assuming the accuracy of reports regarding the stone-pelting event on the night of September 7th, which allegedly involved Muslim minors, the subsequent violent actions taken by police cannot be justified, particularly as they seem aimed at placating the sentiments of the city's majority population.

After the stone-throwing incident, the police swiftly detained the minors, leading to a gathering of a large mob demanding severe punishment for the accused. This response escalated communal tensions, with the mob reportedly launching stones at police, causing widespread outrage and damage to multiple vehicles.

A video shared by the Surat City Police displays the accused being led away from their homes without apparent issues, yet later footage reveals them struggling to walk after their time in police custody, strongly suggesting they suffered severe physical abuse.

These actions constitute a clear violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and jeopardize the integrity of a civil and democratic society. No police manual or the Indian Penal Code endorses the indiscriminate use of force against citizens.

The footage indicates that the officers acted with impunity, establishing a concerning precedent that threatens the rule of law. This incident not only represents a grave injustice for the victims but also poses a risk to all citizens who value democratic principles.

The legal framework provides adequate mechanisms for punishing the guilty, including the registration of First Information Reports (FIRs), trials, and possible convictions or acquittals. However, the behavior displayed by the police in this case reflects an outdated, authoritarian mindset, with officers appearing to take the law into their own hands, rather than serving the public.

No resistance was shown during the arrests, and the use of force appears solely intended to demean individuals from a minority community

The decision of some officers to act as both judge and executioner fosters a culture of violence within law enforcement. Both international law, which India has committed to uphold, and national regulations strictly prohibit torture.

The Supreme Court's landmark ruling in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal mandates stringent adherence to procedures designed to prevent custodial torture, and the actions of the implicated officers, along with the inaction of their superiors, blatantly disregard this judgment.

It is vital that the officers responsible for the alleged abuse be identified and held accountable. They are bound by the Code of Criminal Procedure and possess no authority to inflict harm or intimidate individuals. The video evidence clearly indicates no resistance was shown during the arrests, and the use of force appears solely intended to demean individuals from a minority community.

Despite ample evidence of police brutality circulating in the public domain, relevant authorities have yet to act, which only underscores the entrenched authoritarian mindset within the police force and a dismissal of the rule of law.

In light of these events, there is a need for appropriate departmental, disciplinary, punitive, and criminal actions against the responsible police officials who have violated the rights of victims and defied the Supreme Court's ruling in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal.

---

*Convener, Minority Coordination Committee, Gujarat. This article is based on the author's appeal to the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

Comments

Modi govt distancing from Adanis? MoEFCC 'defers' 1500 MW project in Western Ghats

By Rajiv Shah Is the Narendra Modi government, in its third but what would appear to be a weaker avatar, seeking to show that it would keep a distance, albeit temporarily, from its most favorite business house, the Adanis? It would seem so if the latest move of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) latest to "defer" the Adani Energy’s application for 1500 MW Warasgaon-Warangi Pump Storage Project is any indication.

India’s climate tech ecosystem in dire need of both early, growth-stage funding: Report

By Our Representative India’s climate tech ecosystem, which boasts over 800 startups, is in dire need of both early and growth-stage funding to leverage its full potential, according to a report by Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (Ventures) and MUFG Bank , Japan. Despite a robust initial funding landscape, with approximately two-thirds of climate tech startups receiving seed capital, growth-stage investments remain critically lacking.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded reaction in the form of a link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Bayer's business model: 'Monopoly control over chemicals, seeds'

By Bharat Dogra* The Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has rendered a great public service by very recently publishing a report titled ‘Bayer’s Toxic Trails’ which reveals how the German agrochemical giant Bayer has been lobbying hard to promote glyphosate and GMOs, or trying to “capture public policy to pursue its private interests.” This report, written by Joao Camargo and Hans Van Scharen, follows Bayer’s toxic trail as “it maintains monopolistic control of the seed and pesticides markets, fights off regulatory challenges to its toxic products, tries to limit legal liability, and exercises political influence.”

105,000 sign protest petition, allege Nestlé’s 'double standard' over added sugar in baby food

By Kritischer Konsum* 105,000 people have signed a petition calling on Nestlé to stop adding sugar to its baby food products marketed in lower-income countries. It was handed over today at the multinational’s headquarters in Vevey, where the NGOs Public Eye, IBFAN and EKO dumped the symbolic equivalent of 10 million sugar cubes, representing the added sugar consumed each day by babies fed with Cerelac cereals. In Switzerland, such products are sold with no added sugar. The leading baby food corporation must put an end to this harmful double standard.

UNEP report on how climate crisis is impacting displacement, global conflicts, declining health

By Shankar Sharma* A recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), titled "A Global Foresight Report on Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing," warrants urgent attention from our country’s developmental perspective. The findings, detailed in the report, should be a source of significant concern not only globally but especially for our nation, which has a vast population and limited natural resources.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Militants, with ten times number of arms compared to those in J&K, 'roaming freely' in Manipur

By Sandeep Pandey* The violence which shows no sign of abating in the ongoing Meitei-Kuki conflict in Manipur is a matter of concern. The alienation of the two communities and hatred generated for each other is unprecedented. The Meiteis cannot leave Manipur by road because the next district North on the way to Kohima in Nagaland is Kangpokpi, a Kuki dominated area where the young Kuki men and women are guarding the district borders and would not let any Meitei pass through the national highway.

Search This Blog