Srinagar Lynching Portrays the Sick Mentality of Our Society—an Alarming Situation for J&K Government. If Law Enforcers are Vulnerable to Violence, How can We Expect Peace and Social Security amidst Hostilities…
Deputy Superintendent of J&K Police Mohammad Ayub Pandith was stripped naked, stoned and lynched to death by an irate mob in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu & Kashmir this Friday. His fault? The mob that congregated for offering prayers at the mosque, suspected him of clicking pictures outside Jama Masjid in Nowhatta locality. Accusing him of suspicious activities, a furious mob attacked him with stones. Finding no way out, the officer allegedly opened a fire on a group of people that stoned him to death.
Since his clothes and service revolver were missing, it was difficult to identify him at first. His identity was confirmed hours later when his family tried to contact him on his mobile phone. The mob spotted him touring the Nowhatta area at 12:20 am, an act termed as ‘suspicious’ by the mob. The people had assembled outside the mosque to offer their prayers during Shab-e-Qadr (the Night of the Power).
The lynching occurred prior to a public call for protests from so-called Kashmiri separatist leaders who were livid over a civilian’s death in Pulwama clash, which occurred a day before Srinagar violence. Following Thursday’s encounter, wherein 3 suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were killed in a clash with security forces, the incensed natives attacked the officers on duty.
After leaving the police officer naked and dead outside the mosque, the frantic mob went on a rampage, targeting the empty security pickets in nearby areas. The government had to deploy security forces in that region to control the enraged mob. Calling it an ‘extremely shameful incident’, J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed her concern over the safety of on-duty officers.
Besides Srinagar lynching, incidents that have been happening around the country raise serious questions on the crazy, thoughtless mentality of the citizens. What has the nation come to? Rather than adopting a peaceful, rational way approach to a situation, we find it convenient to take law in our hands. It also points out at the slackness of the government that clearly failed to secure its people. In a ‘secular’ country like India, the death of a police officer on duty is an eye-opening example of how intolerant, aggressive and apathetic we’ve grown in last one decade.
Seeing the present scenario, if the security forces are unsafe in our country, how can they guarantee the safety of a common man?
