Minister Praises Gujarat Public Flogging But Where is the Rule of Law, Ask Legal Experts (The Wire)

By Sabah Gurmat / The Wire

New Delhi: The Gujarat police may have ordered an inquiry into the plain-clothes policemen in Kheda district seen publicly flogging Muslim men accused of stone-pelting but the cops in question have been praised by Gujarat’s minister of state for home, Harsh Sanghavi, for doing “a nice job”.

Since a video showing at least four men being held against an electricity pole and flogged amidst cheers by the village locals went viral, multiple reports have identified that police officials involved in the incident as being from the Local Crime Branch (LCB).

While the state’s director general of police (DGP) Ashish Bhatia informed the media that an inquiry had been ordered into the incident, activist Mujahid Nafees from rights organisation, the Minority Co-ordination Committee (MCC), sent legal notices to the chief secretary, DGP and other state authorities through his lawyer Anand Yagnik.

Nafees, on behalf of his organisation, demanded that an independent inquiry be conducted, citing reasons of fairness and impartiality.

Speaking to The Wire, Yagnik said, “The Supreme Court itself has observed, ‘Who will police the police?’ We demanded a judicial inquiry by a retired high court judge who will not be chosen by the government but chosen by the Chief Justice of the Gujarat high court.”

“We don’t trust the police because without their permission, this incident wouldn’t have happened in the first place,” Yagnik continued. “The video also shows a large crowd of locals gathered there, cheering on the incident. What was the police doing?”

This story was originally published in thewire.in . Read the full story here