New Delhi: Following the increasing events of mob lynching across the nation, the Ministry of Home Affairs has finally decided to take strict action against the perpetrators.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday directed home departments of states and Union Territories to broadcast and publicise the “serious consequences under the law” for those indulging in mob violence, Indian Express reports.
The MHA is already in talks with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and soon will broadcast messages on radio and TV about the cold-blooded crime or mob lynching going on across the nation which could land them in severe punishments.
At least 34 lynching deaths have been reported from nine states in the last one year with the recent had the latest ones reported from Imphal where a 26-year-old man identified as Farooque Khan was killed by a mob on the suspicion that he was a vehicle-lifter and another from Rajasthan where a 22-year-old Azhar Khan was lynched for fishing, he later succumbed to injuries after the punching by unidentified guards.
The MHA citing SC’s directive told the states to take preventive measures to check the incidents of lynching.
Earlier the Supreme Court had ordered Central and state governments to broadcast on radio, television and other media platforms, including official websites of state home department and police about serious crime as such as lynching of any kind, shall invite serious consequences under the law.
The MHA has also asked 8 states and UTs to file reports of their compliance with the SC’s verdict which specifically asked these states for action taken in compliance with the court’s directions.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had told in Parliament that the ruling government is working on enacting a law regarding lynching crime.
The Supreme Court taking cognizance of rampant incidents of mob violence had said, “There has been an unfortunate litany of spiralling mob violence and agonised horror, presenting a grim and gruesome picture that compels us to reflect whether the populace of a great Republic like ours has lost the values of tolerance to sustain a diverse culture. Besides, bystander apathy, numbness of the mute spectators of the scene of the crime, inertia of the law enforcing machinery to prevent such crimes and nip them in the bud and grandstanding of the incident by the perpetrators of the crimes, including in the social media, aggravates the entire problem.”