In polarised times, mob impunity and police helplessness – By Vibhuti Narain Rai
If you happen to see an unusual visual of a police inspector, his head hung in shame with two Hindutva zealots carrying saffron flags and a trident, you may not overcome the shock. More so if you have spent several years in khaki. This happened to me.
When I reached village Chandan Khedi with a group of human right activists – where more than a dozen Muslim houses were ransacked by a mob of volunteers with the pious intention of collecting contributions for the grand Ram Mandir at Ayodhya – everybody was eager to recount their horrifying experience. Thanks to smartphones, some of them recorded visuals and frightening sounds during the more than three hours of this spirited “volunteer” activity.
One image of the many on these phones caught my attention – of that head hung in shame. From the three stars with the red-blue ribbon on the shoulders, I could identify the police inspector carrying the burden of shame for his inability to do something he has been trained and equipped for….
