Civil rights groups from all across the country were outraged over the video clips which showed police ransacking private properties in Dhule in northern Maharashtra. The video footage as shown in various newspapers reveals the true facets of our police who always claim to be the protector and saviour of the common man. The activists have demanded suspension of all the police officers seen in the clips while some stated that it is time the state government comes out of its denial mode and sensitises the police force to check the growing communalisation of law enforcers.
“The 1992-93 riots were the first wake-up call. The then Additional Commissioner V N Deshmukh while deposing to the Srikrishna Commission stated that nearly 80 per cent of the constabulary recruited were Shiv Sainiks. Such clips, however, show that the state of Maharashtra has still not addressed the growing communalisation of the police force. It is time the government takes up this issue seriously,” said social activist Teesta Setalvad.
Noted film director and social activist Mahesh Bhatt pointed out that the clips now in the public domain show the lawmakers and enforcers who are responsible for upholding the Constitution are not doing their job. The police opened fire in which six Muslims were killed. The State Minority Commission has demanded that all the policemen in the clips be identified and suspended.