“What was the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Circle Inspector, Assistant Sub-Inspectors(2) and 30 policemen fixing right at the spot of massacre?”
Ranchi: Following the blame on four people as child-lifters, the BJP Government not only failed in maintaining peace and secularism in the country but also as displayed an utter collapse of ‘Indian Law Enforcement’.
Imagine the petrified situation of citizens who had been promised “Ache Din”, yet were ruthlessly hammered and finally lynched by a mob in Haldipokhar.
Well, the ‘Bacha Chor’ rumor isn’t what worries the nation presently rather, the critical question which arises is:
“What was the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Circle Inspector, Assistant Sub-Inspectors(2) and 30 policemen fixing right at the spot of massacre?”
Can we label it as a death of ‘Law Enforcement System’?
These officers were seen witnessing the lynching unfold right in front of their eyes.
Policemen at the Rajnagar station received calls from some villagers in Shobhapur at 6 am. By 6.30 am, T P Kushwaha, the officer in charge, two ASIs and five constables reached Shobhapur.
After half an hour (the span in which any victim can be easily killed) of complaint at around 7.30 am, reinforcements, including a DySP, CI Rajiv Niraj and 20 policemen, arrived at the spot from the Seraikela district headquarters, 14 km away.
Though, family members of the victims Sheikh Sajju (25), Sheikh Siraj (26) and Sheikh Halim (28) managed to flee the spot, the policemen ‘silently witnessed’ the mob beating Naim with rods and lathis. For over three hours, Naim, who was soaked in blood, begged for mercy until he collapsed.
At around 11 am, police dragged a critically injured and unconscious Naim to Seraikela hospital, where he died within minutes.
At around 1 pm, police picked up the bodies of Sajju and Siraj from the main road at Padnamsai. They had been tracked down by the mob, beaten, their bones broken, and their bodies set ablaze.
Displaying the ‘helplessness’ of Indian Law Enforcement, ‘Kushwaha’ said: “We saw people beating up a youth, alleging that he was a child-lifter. For the next 45 minutes, we spoke to some members of the mob, trying to pacify them. But what can you do if the rest of them go on a rampage? There were so many people and more kept pouring in. There was so much commotion. I had never faced such a situation in my career”
The ASI on duty, Sashibhusan Gope too managed to exhibit the failure of Nation’s Police: “Please, I beg you. Don’t talk to me, I am just a small officer. I was there but I cannot talk to you. Please contact my superiors”
Traumatically, Gope is seen in one of the videos of the lynching with another ASI Manoj Kumar Singh. Singh is now on leave due to ill health.
The policemen didn’t even go to Padnamsai until late in the afternoon to collect the bodies.
The mob vandalised two houses in Shobhapur, including that of Halim’s relative Murtaza. “They ransacked my house, and pushed and shoved the women in my family. They caught Naim while he tried to flee and broke his legs. Then, they dragged him to the main road, beating him all the while. I watched helplessly. Police were present, too,” said Murtaza.
The charred frame of the car in which the victims had travelled to Murtaza’s house remains as an admonition for the Indians.
Write-up: Sana Sikander