| Published on 20-09-2007 In National |
| Viewed 1464 times |
| Why does the mob take the law into its hands in Bihar? |
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Written by
N.R.Mohanty |
The state of Bihar made the national headlines (both in print and television) for three times in quick succession in the last one month for all the wrong reasons. The latest reason is the mob violence wreaking havoc. First was in Bhagalpur where two policemen were shown on video joining the mob in thrashing a thief. The second case was in Nawada where three bicycle thieves were brutally assaulted; one of them lost his eye in the mob fury. Last week, in a third incident, 10 thieves were lynched by an irate mob in a village in Vaishali, barely 50 kilometres from the state capital.
Commentators all over the country have variously described these incidents as symptomatic of the breakdown of the civil society and rightly so. But you ask the people involved in the crime: They would say that they are forced to take the law into their hands because the law enforcing agencies do not come to their help. Should we be at the receiving end of the criminal depredations always, they ask.
Having lived in Bihar for over a decade and being a witness to several incidents of mob violence, every time it left one's innards churning for days after they happened. One particular incident happened early on a Sunday morning. I heard a huge commotion in the backyard of the apartment in which I lived. I rushed down to see what had happened. It was an unbearable sight. There was a man lying dead in the middle of the road and his head had been smashed by a huge stone lying beside him. What was most disturbing most was to see the all those familiar people in the neighbourhood -- state government officials, bank employees and businessmen -- endorsing the action on the hope that it would serve as a deterrent for the potential criminals in the area.
You tell them that they ought to have handed over the thief to the police and they would retort that that is the surest way to ensure that criminals thrive – after all, the thugs know very well how easy it is to bribe your way out of the police station. It is only those who do not belong to a gang and who do not have the means to grease the palms of the police are forwarded to the jail, they would say. They would even argue that the police have a vested interest in letting the criminal activities flourish, as that would add to their bourgeoning kitty.
If this is the perception of the so-called middle class in a capital town, it is hardly surprising that similar cynicism percolates down the line. That explains why you seethe recent happenings in Bhagalpur, Nawada and Vaishali, which is a common occurrence, but these happened to get greater coverage in the media while others are consigned to the sidelines.
Bhagalpur incident got saturation coverage because a local TV journalist managed to capture the scene on his camera. What added to the grist is the supposed abetment of the mob violence by two policemen. Many were disturbed that the policemen, instead of restraining the law-breakers, became their accomplice.
The policemen were dismissed in no time.
Anil Sinha, the Inspector General (Administration) of Bihar government came on television to announce that the Bihar government had dispensed with their services and salvaged the sanctity of the state institution. This incident has a striking similarity with that of Uma Khurana, the school teacher in Delhi, who was dismissed from services soon after a sting operation by a TV channel (Live India) claimed that she was using school girls for prostitution. It led to mob violence. Arvind Singh Lovely, the Delhi state's education minister, lost no time to announce on television her dismissal from service.
In both the cases, the television footage led to the instant justice because the authorities believed that the camera could not lie. But, fortunately for Uma Khurana, leading newspapers and television channels raised the issue of credibility of the camera expose and ultimately, the truth came out – that she was a victim of circumstances.
Unfortunately for the two policemen, the mainstream media believed what they saw and did not ask probing questions: was it true that both of them actually acted in a brutal manner as they were shown on the video? If yes, why did they do so? That would have thrown some light on the way the system works.
During my years in Bihar as a journalist, I visited different parts of the state whenever major crimes happened. I invariably asked the local police officials: why did they fail in anticipating and preventing the crime? Their usual response was that they were always far outnumbered to retaliate when a criminal gang struck; by the time the reinforcement came in, the criminals were through with their job and gone.
The same was the case when the mob violence occurred. What could the two policemen have done to control a marauding mob? Couldn't they have resorted to firing, or atleast a lathi-charged or tear-gas? But it is quite possible that had they tried to physically rescue the thief from the mob, both of them would have been probably lynched. So the usual reaction of the two policemen would have been to watch the scene from the sidelines, like bystanders. Then, the inevitable would have happened – the thief would have been lynched.
Many policemen have told me that the only way to pacify an unruly crowd is to fake sympathy with their cause and seize initiatives from their hands. The two policemen probably tried to do the same and succeeded in saving the life of the thief but in the process, lost their job.
This must have sent the message down to all policemen: you will be better off if you allow the mob to take the law into its hands, when you are not equipped to take it on.
And since the police force in Bihar is woefully ill equipped, that is a clear invitation to a mob to let loose its orgy.
It will not be surprising, therefore, if many more Nawadas and Vaishalis are waiting to happen in Bihar in the days to come.
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