By Prarthana Mitra
Maharashtra, which has seen a worrying rise in mob violence like other Indian states, is taking the Supreme Court’s latest directives seriously. For the first time, a state government has issued a fresh set of guidelines to tackle the social menace which is well on its way to becoming an epidemic.
Task force, website ban to tackle mobocracy
To deal with mobocracy and hate crimes, the State Home Department of Maharashtra has officially empowered the police and law enforcement authorities to ban or suspend websites and online platforms that propagate fake news or hate crimes through doctored reports.
Cow vigilantism has to stop
Saying that states have greater obligations to take a stand against mob lynchings, the land’s top court issued a strongly worded directive while hearing a petition against cow vigilantism, after the lynching of Rakbar Khan in Alwar, Rajasthan. The bench has received further petitions against the state governments of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, for failing to comply with the Supreme Courts latest advisory.
Nodal officers to track incidents
In Maharashtra, Superintendents of police (SPs) will be appointed as district nodal officers and deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) are to keep track of similar incidents in cities. The nodal officers will form a special task force to identify recurring patterns and participants in lynching incidents.
“They will gather information, and coordinate with the Criminal Investigation Department to prevent these incidents. If the nodal officers are convinced of the intention of a person and his or her involvement in a hate crime, they can book them immediately, said a senior official of the Home Department.
Promotion of fake news, provocative content, rumours and hate messages through websites, will invite action from the police, officials said.
Invoking Section 153(A) of the IPC, the latest directive affirmatively empowers the SPs and DCPs to rush to action in case of acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony, like promoting enmity based on religion, race, place of birth, residence and language. This comes after several international media organisations came down hard on the Indian government for failing to come up with comprehensive guidelines against mob violence.
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius