Taking tough stand on the patronised goons of SP is the uphill task that the Yogi Government has to undertake
Surender Singhal
The rowdy mindset of some Muslim youth, who enjoyed full political patronage under the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) regime in Uttar Pradesh, still continues unabated. The broad day light molestation of two Dalit Hindu girls in Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh on May 22 by a gang of 14 local Muslim youth who not only molested them but also filmed their brazen act of molestation and uploaded the video on social media, invites exemplary action on the part of the state government against the miscreants.
The police have, however, arrested 10 of the accused. The administration also needs to reign in the elements who display indirect support to such miscreants. Samajwadi Party MLA from Rampur, Azam Khan, who is infamous for his controversial statements, while indirectly protecting the Muslims goons advised the people to “keep women of their families indoor under strict vigil” and “the girls should not go to places where there is a brazen dance of shamelessness”. Khan seems to have taken no lesson from the Supreme Court denunciation when the apex court made him apologise for calling the Bulandshahr case a “political conspiracy”. Now, in this case also he, while flaying the state government, advised the women to stay indoors.
According to the police, the molestation victim girls have not filed any complaint. The police took suo moto cognizance of the matter and lodged FIR against 14 persons including Farman, Jahan-e-Alam, Saddam and others who are seen in the video. The FIR has been registered under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or use of force to woman with intent to disrobe) and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
The incident took place in Kuva Kheda village on May 22. The accused molested the girls when they were going to market with a boy of theiracquaintance. As petrol exhausted in the bike, the youth went to fetch petrol and the girls waited along the bike. Meanwhile, Shahnawaj and his aides caught the girls forcefully and started molesting them. However, the girls and the youth who returned with petrol after a short while, boldly protested against the bid, but the miscreants did not stop. The brazenness of the incident was that the Muslim youth filmed the entire incident in their mobile phone and uploaded the video in social media. When the video went viral and some TV channels also showed the incident, it shocked the people. The three-minute-long video shows the Muslim youth surrounding the two girls and pushing and groping them by the side of a road. They are seen pulling one of the girls and picking her up, as the other girl tries to save her, saying, ‘Tumahre ghar main behen nahi hai kya (Don’t you have sisters)?’ The girls are heard wailing and pleading to let them go.
The police formed five teams to nab the culprits. The teams arrested nine of the accused, while one surrendered in the court. The search for four others is on. Since the rowdy mindset of Muslim youth was on its peak during the SP regime and the people were very disturbed over it, the new Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath soon after assuming power launched ‘anti-Romeo’ squads to curb harassment and ensure the safety of women in the state. But that initiative ran into trouble as the elements patronising the miscreants termed it “moral
policing and excesses”. The government then renamed the force as ‘Nari Suraksha Bal’
(Women’s Protection Force). Yogi Adityanath said
misbehaving with the women would not be tolerated. State Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya also condemned the incident in strongest words. ADG (law & order) Aditya Mishra directed Rampur police to take strict action against the culprits.
The main strength of the Muslim miscreants in Uttar Pradesh has been the political patronage that they have enjoyed under the Samajwadi Party regime. That patronage still continues in the form of some SP leaders. The uphill task before the Yogi Government is to reign in these miscreants. The Ramput incident has received sharp reaction from the local people. They are agitated and are seeking strict action against the culprits.
