The latest incident of mob violence in Gurugram wherein a school bus was targeted during anti-‘Padmaavat’ protests putting children in danger, has highlighted the failure of Haryana Police to yet again maintain law and order in the face of hooliganism.
Here are other such incidents in the recent past where the police did not act effectively:
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Conviction
Mere minutes after the self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim was found guilty of rape in August 2017, thousands of his supporters who were gathered outside the courtroom in Panchkula erupted in fury. The mob began pelting stones, setting fire to vehicles and public property along with attacking bystanders and police.
Within a couple of hours after the 3 pm verdict, five people were already dead due to the violence. By 7 pm, 29 people were dead along with hundreds wounded. The final death toll was 34. This tragically occurred despite it being widely known for days that thousands of Ram Rahim supporters were making their way to Panchkula for the final hearing on the case.
The monetary loss to Haryana was Rs 126,68,71,700.
Jat Quota Agitation
In February 2016, nearly 30 people were killed and over 300 injured during protests by members of the Jat community demanding quotas in jobs and education.
The loss to nearby states was Rs 34,000 crores as a result of stalled businesses and damage to public property.
According to a committee, led by former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prakash Singh, nearly 90 police and administrative officers had failed to act in controlling the violence.
The report stated that there had been a lack of “the will to act, the determination to prevent riotous mobs” from assembling and managing them, adding that most officers did “not rise to the occasion.”
The report has stated that the police had been “either unequal” to tackle the situation or they “could not mobilise the full strength” of the men under their command, some of whom it said had gone “missing or [had]deserted their duties”.
Self-Styled Godman Rampal’s Arrest
In November 2014, six people died and over 100 were injured during a two-week standoff between Rampal’s supporters and the Haryana police in Barwala, Hisar.
Rampal’s supporters barred the police from entering the premises to arrest the godman, against whom the Punjab and Haryana High Court had released a non-bailable warrant.
Nearly 15,000 Rampal followers many of whom were women and children had been forced to remain within Rampal’s ashram in Barwala, so that they could be used as a human shield for the ‘godman’ against the police.
12 Jat Khap Panchayats’ Rail/Road Blockade
In January 2011, around 12 Jat community khap panchayat members blocked rail and road traffic in Haryana’s Jind district for 11 days.
They were protesting the arrest of some persons belonging to their community in the 2010 Mirchpur caste violence case. The blockade also included large-scale vandalism with buses being stoned and rail tracks being damaged. The loss suffered by the railways alone was estimated at Rs 34 crore.
The protests were against the arrest of “upper caste” persons who had been accused of torching a hamlet in Haryana’s Mirchpur hamlet which killed a 70-year-old Dalit man and his disabled daughter in April 2010.
