Lessons we should draw from Prayagraj

The shocking incident in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, where arrested don Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, were gunned down by three young men while on their way for a medical checkup, proves that despite saffron strongman Yogi Adityanath being in power in India’s most populous state for the second time, hardly anything has changed when it comes to law and order.

There was a security cordon around the two brothers, one of whom was a former MP from Phulpur and the other a former MLA and yet, the crime was committed in full public glare with the assailants posing as members of the media. It goes to show that a lot more needs to be done to ensure the safety and security of even those in the custody of the police and more so when they are high-profile detainees like Atiq, who had more than a 100 criminal cases against him.

The police have a duty to ensure that those who allegedly commit crimes like Atiq are brought to justice and in this case, that may not happen now that he is dead. A probe has been ordered into the incident and several cops are facing action with political parties of all hues wondering if the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh is going from bad to worse.

Gangster-like killings are becoming all too common in modern India – one is reminded of the incident about a year ago when popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala was gunned down in a hail of bullets after the vehicle he was travelling in, was intercepted in what seemed to be a scene straight from a Bollywood flick.

Several people with links to dreaded gangsters have been arrested in this case with the Punjab police even probing the links of gangsters based abroad with the murder. For the common man, always more concerned about his daily means of livelihood, such killings no doubt send a shudder down their spine for this is not the ideal Bharat where they would like to live and thrive.

This is a nation built on the foundations of Ahimsa or non-violence and peace – a great land where the Mahatma strode across hundreds of kilometres advocating a non-violent struggle for freedom, and the need to abjure bloodshed. Though Gandhiji finally fell to the dastardly act of an assassin, his message of truth, non-violence and peace still has millions of adherents in this country and continues to resound in every Indian’s heart.

And such killings are an obvious reminder that the dreams of our founding fathers are fast getting crushed. One can’t help but wonder what kind of message youngsters watching the horrendous scenes of the shooting, scene by scene on their television sets, would be drawing – it’s obviously not a positive one. We will also have to ask ourselves the troubling question whether such incidents would encourage the gun culture, which has taken plenty of lives in modern societies like the US, where a third of adults claim they own a gun.

Though we have the Arms Act, which seeks to impose curbs on the possession of arms, the latest incident in Prayagraj has revealed that getting a gun is no difficult task – reports say the gun used for the Atiq-Ashraf killing was a Zigana manufactured in faraway Turkey. Those in power will have to send out a strong and stern message that they will not allow any attempt by anyone irrespective of caste and community, to take the law into their hands, and also ensure exemplary punishment for criminals.

Otherwise, those who have scant respect for the law are sure to take advantage of the situation. Fear of the law is the key when it comes to ensuring order in society and if a government cannot do this, it has no right to preside over the destinies of the overwhelming majority of citizens who are law-abiding to the core.