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Dalit lynching: police incompetence?
Deepinder

On receiving the information, a BDO and a Naib-Tehsildar were sent but the crowd became unmanageable. However, the DSP and the City Magistrate, who admitted being present on the spot when the victims were lynched, said that they arrived at the Dulina chowki at 8.45 pm and 9 pm respectively. The sources confirmed that mob’s ire seemed to have ebbed after it beat up one of the five victims and injured him seriously and it had started dispersing. After that, the DSP and the City Magistrate tried to pacify the crowd by saying that if any of the persons (allegedly skinning a cow) got killed at the villagers’ hands, they would be booked for murder.

Sources added that after some time the crowd started swelling as some tempos carrying more people, perhaps on being tipped off by someone started arriving. There were some known faces of Jhajjar in the crowd. The victims were still in the lock-up. After that situation went completely out of the police’s hands and the mob captured the chowki, apparently on instigation.

The City Magistrate and the DSP admitted that they were present on the spot when the five persons were lynched. These officers said that the situation went out of control as around 3000-strong mob was not ready to listen.

The SSP or the Deputy Commissioner did not disclose their strategy or crisis management plan to rescue the five persons from the mob. They said they never anticipated such deadly consequences.

Mr Mohinder Kumar, Deputy Commissioner stated that he was informed about the road block and the heightened tension by Mr Bansal at 8 p.m.. He then immediately asked the City Magistrate to rush to the spot to control the situation.

Mr Mohammed Akil, SSP said that they tried their best to pacify the mob and also tried to sneak them (victims) out but crowd left no room and the police eschewed firing option as the toll could have been much higher. He said he along with the DC went to the spot at 10 p.m. when the bodies were still lying on the road. They returned after midnight after the crowd had dispersed.

Meanwhile, Mr R.R. Banswal, Commissioner, Rohtak Division, probing the incident said that he would look into the circumstances which led to the brutal killings. He stated that the role of the policemen at the Dulina post as well as the district police and the administration would be probed. How a crowd managed to gather on the spot and were the victims skinning the cow after slaughtering it would also be probed. The report of the post-mortem examination of the cow recovered from the spot is awaited it would provide crucial input to the investigation added Mr Banswal.

The sources in the Police Department disclosed, on condition of anonymity, that the police had been avoiding registration of cases of rape, murder and looting which reportedly spoil the image of the government.

CM promises action
Our Correspondent

Kaithal, October 23
The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, reiterated that the people found guilty in the gruesome incident at Dulina village in Jhajhar district, in which five Dalits had been killed, would be sternly dealt with and prompt action would be taken against them.

The Chief Minister was talking to mediapersons here today. He said the government had instituted an inquiry by the Divisional Commissioner, Rohtak, into the incident. He said stringent action would be taken against the guilty after receiving the inquiry report without any delay. He said opposition parties were bent upon to derive political mileage from the incident.