Democracy and dissent go hand in hand. While a democratically elected government runs a nation of a 1.252 billion people it is but natural for some of the citizens to be offended by something or other, for some to not like its policies and for some others to criticize its every move. Indeed this is how a healthy democracy flourishes. From sanitation, water supply, electricity to better transportation facilities and last mile connectivity there is no dearth of issues in India which require urgent attention and uproar over them could be welcomed. Yet somehow our responsible politicians and TRP hungry media houses find it convenient to fire up some other individual incident to dominate the national debates for weeks and months.
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
While a judge and court takes months and years to come to a conclusion, the camera-satellite brigade pronounces guilty as charged within moments. Investigative journalism has become a thing of past and sail with the wind is the new cool mantra.
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
Today you just need some air time, a camera, a mike and an OB van to decide and pronounce what’s good and bad with this country. You can build a complete narrative around your perception without caring about its impact on the society and nation as a whole and keep shoving mikes on unsuspecting politicians for a two minute byte to back-up your story.
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
One such case in recent past has been of Dadri lynching.
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
Enough has been said and written about the much hyped Dadri Lynching incident yet things remain as unclear as ever before. Some new reports from Dadri are indicating towards a completely different narrative of Akhlaq’s gruesome killing.
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
As per the latest revelations a key eyewitness (name withheld in original report) has claimed that Dadri lynching was actually a well-planned murder that took place out of personal grudge and had nothing to do with beef consumption at all. As per his own admission he was present at Akhlaq’s house well before his murder and tried to pacify a group of 8-10 people gathered there to settle some personal score with the family. He was strictly warned to stay out of it if he valued his own life even a bit. Akhlaq had locked himself in an upper story room with his son which was afterwards broken by the goons present at the house and he was killed with in five-ten minutes of it.
Though this witness also claims that an announcement from the temple was made for people to gather at his house and he also saw carcass of some animal about 50 meters from Akhlaq’s house. Indeed he further admits that this all was just a veil to divert any future investigations as the killing had already taken place by 8-10 people even before the gathered mob of temple could reach Akhlaq’s house.
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
First things first- Why would a person eating a supposedly forbidden food item showcase the evidence of its consumption at the most visible place near his house? How would a temple priest learn of something being cooked at someone else’s house? If this was an issue of communal tension how come only Akhlaq’s family specifically targeted out-of 18 Muslim families residing in the same village?
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
Also, let us just get our facts straight- If a non-mainstream media house can reach to a confessed eyewitness and get such intrinsic details out of him what exactly is stopping our proficient law enforcement agencies to divulge into these details of such high-profile case. Why didn’t hundreds of veteran journalists thronging the streets of Bisada village never tried to get any other side of the story or was it deliberately ignored? Of-course in a land where people get killed over excessive honking or overtaking a car, a murder out of personal enmity wouldn’t have provided any fodder for national news.
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
Nevertheless these revelations do not in any way minimize the cruelty and gruesomeness of the unfortunate murder yet the way in which this whole incident was portrayed without divulging into thorough details and by jumping into conclusive reports of religious intolerance is equally condemnable.
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
The velocity with which this incident escalated and grabbed headlines had made a lot of residents of the village to leave the town fearing detention. Even those having nothing to do with the incident left the village as they feared of arrest by the local police who was immensely under pressure to show some results. Indeed the fact remains that even after so much media scrutiny and political hullabaloo the local priest of the temple from which the announcement was made remains untraced and the key accused who according to this eyewitness was also the mastermind behind Dadri murder walks free in the village.
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
Interestingly amidst all this, in early November, Subodh Singh, the Station Officer of Bisada village, was transferred to Varanasi. A case that has garnered individual attention of who’s who of Indian power circle, right from the State CM to India’s honorable President, what was exactly the hurry to transfer the lone investigating officer who took care of the primary findings and arrests?
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
Even the other son of Akhalq who was also present with him at that unfortunate and was admitted to the hospital after being severely attacked has finally recovered but as of yet hasn’t been contacted by UP police to record his official statement. Being the survivor of the same attack he incidentally becomes the prime witness in the case yet the shoddy investigations are on without his statement.
DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
Report further suggests that a very high number of people in the village actually know the truth of the whole incident but are under constant scrutiny of local law enforcement to remain quiet. Surely a murder in local feud has no political mileage!
#DadriLies: Mob Murder or Manufactured Malice- The Untold Story of Dadri Lynching!
The complete propaganda of intolerance meticulously built over this unfortunate incident has probably served its purpose to its masters, hordes of panelists shouting at top of their voice in luxury studios have moved over to some other topic and the political circus around it has detested its tent in search of another destination of dissent, yet the truth about those last moments of Akhlaq’s life and his murderers still remains grim and grotesque.
