Saharanpur Episode: DM, SSP been made Scapegoat- A Bitter Truth
Ashish Kedia
On and off clashes in Saharanpur region have been happening since last few years. However the situation escalated on April 20, 2017 when ruling party’s lawmaker tried taking out an Ambedkar Jayanti procession without permission.
The then SSP Love Kumar intervened during the procession and stopped it from passing through an area which could have resulted in a direct clash between the two communities.
BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal immediately addressed a meeting at the entry point of the village in which access was denied and assured that SSP will be transferred.
Following this near-riot broke out in the region and six people were reportedly injured and many shops were ransacked. A large group of people led by BJP law maker also gheroed the SSP residence.
A week later SSP Love Kumar was transferred from Saharanpur and S C Dubey was appointed as new SSP of the region.
District magistrate was also transferred later and on April 28 the 2005 batch IAS officer N P Singh took charge of an already boiling Saharanpur.
Since taking the charge of this sensitive region DM N P Singh tried to pacify the already tense situation by conducting meetings between both communities. As per a rough estimate, in short period between 28 April to 23 May, he had conducted around 50 such meetings involving youth of both Dalit and Thakur communities.
It must be recalled that N P Singh was also the DM of G B Nagar when Dadri incident took place and people of the region credit his rapid intervention and immediate action which saved the region from a riot following the incident.
His meetings after Dadri incident is what prevented a Thakur-Muslim clash in the region and saved the then government from further embarrassment”, says a senior official on condition of anonymity.
Political Incompetency:
The situation worsened after BSP Supremo Mayawati visited the region. Following her visit a person was killed and several others were injured. However the notable fact is that the person who died on Tuesday had been killed in an independent incident and not in any mob-violence.
On Thursday 25th may, Union Home Ministry finally rushed 400 riot control policemen to Saharanpur. What exactly was it waiting for till now?
A nine-page report prepared by the UP Police and local intelligence hints at BSP’s role in supporting Bhim Sena. The report has been handed over to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The report says that BSP supremo Mayawati’s brother Anand was in touch with Bhim Sena chief Chandrashekhar through a third party.
Uttar Pradesh has given 72 MP’s including the Prime Minister as well as 320 MLA’s to BJP. Still this level of political confusion and incompetency is mind boggling.
IAS, IPS officers the easiest scapegoat:
It is an open secret that to stop a leader of Mayawati’s stature orders have to come from top echelon of state government. The fact that she not only visited the district but could also manage to flare up the situation speaks volumes about state government’s spinelessness.
Furthermore, what good does changing top administrative officials twice between situations of turmoil would achieve apart from pacifying the political opponents?
Retired IAS officer and former divisional commissioner Shravan Kumar Sharma says,” It looks like those local officers initially didn’t pay required attention to the undercurrent in the society. Later some political forces got involved and the complete situation has turned into turmoil”.
On suspension and transfer of administrative officials “I can’t comment under what circumstance government actually took these decisions. But I do believe that whatever new officer is brought into action he must also be given adequate opportunity to understand situation and do their best. But I do feel at some lower level there has been some incompetency during the initial period”.
With added force and increased attention the situation in Saharanpur seems to be in control now, however political undercurrent can anytime turn the tables again.
(image courtesy :google.co.in)
