Courageous action by police officer Naresh Rathore against Bajrang Dal members in loot case invites ire of right-wing groups

Courageous action by police officer Naresh Rathore against Bajrang Dal members in loot case invites ire of right-wing groups

S.M.A. KAZMI

Dehradun, Nov 12

What should have been a routine exercise of police duty by a Dehradun police officer has snowballed into a major controversy, triggering resentment among right-wing Hindu organisations owing allegiance to the ruling BJP-RSS establishment. The police action, which involved the arrest of members of the Bajrang Dal in connection with a daylight robbery on November 7, has brought to the fore the uneasy relationship between the police and right-wing groups that have enjoyed considerable influence in the state.

The courageous action by Naresh Rathore, a young Station House Officer (SHO) of Patel Nagar police station, has particularly angered these organisations, which have allegedly enjoyed considerable freedom to operate across the state during the past decade of BJP rule. All seven accused, including Bajrang Dal leader Siddhant Badoni, were arrested in connection with the daylight robbery reported from the Patel Nagar police station area.

According to police officials, the accused waylaid the victim’s car on November 7 by deliberately ramming a scooter into it to create a diversion. They subsequently assaulted the victim, snatched a bag containing cash and fled on motorcycles. The robbery was allegedly executed on the basis of information provided by an insider travelling in the car.

Police arrested seven suspects, including Siddhant Badoni and Deepak Singh Shekhawat, who was subsequently traced and arrested in Guptkashi, along with Sarabjeet Singh, Jasmeet Singh, Shakti Singh, Karn Yadav and Sohail Akhtar.

Police officials said the investigation had revealed that the accused, who allegedly had links with a right-wing organisation, had jointly planned and executed the robbery. During the interrogation of the initial three arrests, it emerged that Rajesh Kumar Soni, who had recently finalised a land deal, was carrying a substantial amount of cash in his car. One of the persons accompanying him during the property transaction allegedly passed on this information to the perpetrators. The informer was also travelling in the car when the accused, riding two motorcycles, intercepted the vehicle and snatched the cash bag.

Police initially arrested three suspects—Sarabjeet Singh, Jasmeet Singh and Shakti Singh—on Monday, recovering Rs 1.5 lakh from their possession. On Tuesday, two more accused, Karn Yadav and Sohail Akhtar, were arrested, with Rs 32,000 and Rs 38,000 respectively recovered from them. The alleged mastermind, Siddhant Badoni, and Deepak Singh Shekhawat had fled to Guptkashi but were subsequently traced through electronic surveillance and arrested.

The arrests have placed members of the Bajrang Dal, who have frequently been accused of taking the law into their own hands during the past decade of BJP rule, on the defensive. These groups have often been accused of targeting Muslims, raiding their homes on one pretext or another and publicising such activities on social media, projecting themselves as self-appointed protectors of Hindu interests. Their actions have, on several occasions, attracted appreciation and applause from sections of Hindu society.

This time, however, the tables have turned, with the police action against their own members provoking considerable resentment. Naresh Rathore has emerged as the principal target of their ire, with the accused and their supporters alleging that the robbery charges were fabricated and that the men had been falsely implicated.

Members of the Bajrang Dal, led by their leader Aman Swedia, reportedly engaged in a heated confrontation with the police team when it brought the accused before a local court. Social media platforms were subsequently flooded with protests and criticism of the police action by members and sympathisers of right-wing organisations.

The incident is significant against the backdrop of several earlier instances in which police personnel were allegedly seen accompanying or facilitating members of such groups while they targeted Muslims on allegations of ‘Love Jihad’. These groups have also repeatedly called for the social and economic boycott of the minority community. The latest police action is being viewed by many as an unusual instance of the law-enforcement machinery taking action against individuals associated with organisations that have often operated with considerable impunity.

Naresh Rathore, meanwhile, maintained that he had merely performed his duty and would continue to act against anyone found involved in unlawful activities.

“I have taken an oath of allegiance to the Constitution and the law, and I will continue to uphold them as long as I remain in service,” he said.