Qazi Mizan: A few Muslims were publicly flogged for allegedly disrupting a Hindu festival conducted by the police. This has led to fears of renewed religious tensions and renewed anger under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The incident happened in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. After arresting 10 people who were accused of pelting stones during the Garba dance ceremony, the police publicly flogged them. A video clip has been released in this regard. This clip is from Kheda district of Gujarat. The youths were arrested for allegedly pelting stones at an event in Gerba on Monday night. In the clip, the detainees were tied to an electric pole and beaten by a group of white-clad men.
They have firearms in their waist belts. During this lathipeta, the crowd around was seen cheering. One person present in the clip has already been identified as a policeman. After the beating, the batterers ordered the youths to get into the police van. This is seen in the video clip.
When contacted, Indravadan Patel, panchayat head of Undela village in Matar taluk, said, ‘Stones were pelted at Garba. A total of 43 accused in this incident. 10 of them have been arrested. The police brought the arrested to the spot. Where the Garba is held, the accused are punished.’ All the arrested are from the Muslim community, police said.
Indravadan Patel said that he organized the garba. He was also injured in the head by stones thrown by miscreants. But, can the police beat the accused in this way? In this regard, Gujarat Police Ahmedabad Range IG V Chandrasekhar avoided responsibility for the incident. He said, ‘We have not checked the authenticity of the video yet.’ Superintendent of Police of Kheda district Rajesh Gadhia also evaded responsibility. He promised to ‘look into the video’.
When asked about Monday night’s incident, however, Nadiad DSP VR Vajpayee opened up. He reached the spot and said, ‘A group of Muslim youths tried to stop the Garba celebration in the temple. They failed in this task and threw stones first. Later tried to stop the riot. A GRD jawan and a policeman were also injured in their attack. A total of 43 people have been identified in the incident. A case has been registered against around 150 unidentified persons. Among which there are some women.’
The incident has brought renewed attention to the treatment of religious minorities under the Modi government, which has introduced a series of discriminatory laws against Muslims. Ghiyasuddin Shaikh, an opposition Congress politician, called on the government to immediately sack the police officers involved in the flogging. He said, ‘The officers who took the law into their hands should be dismissed immediately.’
