Congress councilor also filed counter-complaint which mainly based on allegations like desecration of Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
Editorial: Strict Action should be taken against Rishikesh incident accused: The beating of a Sikh businessman and his family members and staff members in Rishikesh and the desecration of their turbans and caps is a condemnable incident. The Dehradun Police, acting immediately on receiving a complaint regarding this incident, registered an FIR and arrested three accused and raids are being conducted to arrest some others.
The accused named in the FIR include a Congress councilor Veerpal and his two supporters Kailash and Suraj Jatav, while the names of the arrested accused have been given as Dharamveer, Raja and Raju. They have been charged with assault and hurting religious sentiments, extortion of Rs 50,000, forcibly snatching a gold chain of a businessman and molesting a female staff member.
The Congress councilor has also filed a counter-complaint which is mainly based on allegations like desecration of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The police say that despite registering this complaint, he has chosen the path of absconding and not cooperating in the investigation. The Jathedar of Akal Takht, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, several Sikh organizations and various political leaders of Punjab have strongly condemned the above incident on the basis of the viral video.
In response, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has assured a sincere investigation into the entire matter and strict action against the culprits. He has also promised to provide justice to the aggrieved party, mentioning the immediate action taken by the police in this regard.
According to media reports, the matter started with a row of motorcycles being arranged outside the motorcycle agency of Sikh businessman Ranjit Singh and the Congress councilor opposing it. Ranjit Singh claims that the councilor wanted to extort Rs 50,000 from him on the pretext of obstruction of traffic on the road due to the motorcycles. When he was refused, he incited his supporters to attack Ranjit Singh's showroom.
On the other hand, the Congress councilor has denied these allegations and accused Ranjit Singh of using casteist words.
Regardless of the primary fault, acts like removing and throwing turbans and desecrating cases are a manifestation of communal mentality and the perpetrators of such acts should not be spared. Media reports also show that despite complaints being registered with the police and action being initiated, anti-social elements are threatening the Sikh community in the Rishikesh area. Such a phenomenon also needs to be strictly controlled by the administration and the police.
Uttarakhand is the first Indian state to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Opposition to this action of its is already ongoing from the Muslim community. Due to this opposition, a bitter atmosphere has prevailed in the state. In an atmosphere of widespread resentment and unhappiness in one minority community, violence against another minority community can increase social bitterness.
The BJP government in the state has been adopting a stance of dealing with cases of atrocities against Sikhs with sincerity in the past. Now too, it is its duty to demonstrate the spirit of dealing with the culprits with a stern hand. Whatever the ideology of the ruling party, it should give the impression of dealing with the situation impartially. This is the best way to maintain communal peace and harmony.
