In the Gujarat state of India, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, almost a dozen Muslim men accused of throwing rocks at a Hindu religious event were tied to a pole and publicly caned by plain clothes police while a growing crowd yelled “Hail Mother India”. (Screen grab from Twitter, @isaifpatel)
Almost a dozen Muslim men in India were shown being caned publicly for allegedly throwing rocks at a Hindu celebration.
After being detained by police in Gujarat state for “disrupting” a religious Hindu celebration called Navratri Garba, plain clothes Indian police took it upon themselves to enact their own brand of justice by restraining the Muslim men upright on a pole and beating them with canes in front of a large crowd.
This video is said to show police in India flogging several Muslim men accused of pelting stones at a Hindu festival dance event, or garba.
In some areas, Muslims have reportedly been banned from the dances or attacked for trying to attend. pic.twitter.com/XZegy35HBi
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 5, 2022
The plain clothes Indian officers were captured in videos that immediately went viral as they enforced corporal punishment on the Muslim men while their hands were restrained. According to NDTV, the large crown of spectators were chanting slogans such as “Hail mother India.”
Videos of the unsanctioned justice was also posted to VTV, a local neighborhood news source. VTV Gujarati News said that “10 to 11 heretics were hauled to the [Undhela] village, where the police taught them a lesson in public.”
According to the report, the Muslim men were also forced to “apologize to the public” and to the police inspector on sight who was in charge of the scene.
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Social media responses varied wildly with most commentators skeptically questioning the Indian police’s use of “kangaroo justice”.
According to the released First Information Report, the village’s Muslim community strongly objected to the Navratri Garba celebration being held so close to their community mosque, which is right across the street from the Hindu temple.
Rajesh Gadhiya, the Kheda superintendent of police said earlier that a group of community members led by two Muslim men entered the venue in which the Navratri Garba was being held “started causing trouble”.
