Encounter

 

Killing of an accused or under trial in police custody by so called encounters follow the age old formula repeated at regular intervals. It helps to erase crucial evidence , cover up many secrets of the high and mighty as well as police lacuna. It also satiates the blood lust that we carry within as a society and gives a misplaced sense of justice carried out. And the cycle goes on .

When the alleged rapists were " eliminated" in an "encounter" in Telangana , many people supported the police action of killing four unarmed accused, as they accused of heinous crime of rape, murder and burning of their victim. Then they conveniently forgot about the constitution , law or justice. That happened as recently as in Dec 2019. The matter was buried under the sands of time . A lot of hue and cry was made on the brutal custodial torture and death of the father-son duo at the hands of the police in Tamil Nadu , which happened only a few days back in June 20 .

Now today we have  this “encounter killing” of Vikas Dubey, a fugitive gangster from Kanpur, accused of killing eight policemen a week back. He was traced from the Mahakal Mandir at Ujjain, as some reports said he had surrendered there . Now it appears that while bringing him back to Uttar Pradesh , one vehicle in the convoy overturned and in the melee and the police allegedly fired at him after he attempted to snatch a weapon and flee the scene. How convenient , clear and transparent turn of events. Doesn't matter if it looks straight out from a scene of the numerous movies that we have grown up watching . And there will be enough people to support his death. Anybody having a different opinion or a question will be shamed as a criminal supporter and perennial doubter against the UP government its most able Chief Minister and his good intentions  to nab criminals and wipe out crime.

At the same time it is also distressing to note how many people are nodding their heads with the " I told you so" expression, me included. It seems that most people were pretty sanguine about the fate which the gangster met and that included reputed journalists to the vegetable seller across the road. This is what is more disturbing . We have now turned into a society where such actions by the police , a proxy of the state is not only justified but taken as a foregone conclusion. And we all are nonchalant about it after the five minutes of discussion we have.

Meanwhile the same state is arresting social activists which include doctors, students, lawyers. Professors, even pregnant women and incarcerating them under trumped up charges without a fair trial  for days, months and in some cases, years. The same state is dragging its feet over the arrest of provocateurs and saboteurs spreading hate in the society. All in all , portents of a very bleak and dystopian future is now manifested all around. But we are not bothered as a society. Maybe some of us are disturbed some time depending upon our priorities of daily living. But until and unless the calamity visits us , we are unconcerned about it , wishing the whole thing away and washing our hands off it.

I know this post will not be of any use to anybody. Most people will not even read it . And most of those who read it will dismiss it off with an expression of disdain. Some may even call me a hypocrite and ask me a counter question about what I am doing about it and try to stop any argument . To those people living in such little cosy paradises let me place a conspiracy theory well suited to their aversion of reality in true Bollywood style . Consider if like all those movie scenes which we like to dismiss as fantasy. Don’t be surprised if later it is revealed that the person dead is somebody else and the real Vikas has fled after a plastic surgery that changes his face. Five years later he resurfaces somewhere with a new name and a new crime or maybe as a saffron clad Baba  with a big cult following . What about that ? Hope you like the plot . Let me develop on it .