DEHRADUN: Four retired senior police officials, including the ex-DGPs of Haryana and UP, have written a strongly-worded letter to Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on the Haridwar Dharam Sansad, questioning how such an event that sought to spread hate, was allowed to take place and why no arrests have been made yet.
The letter, dated January 1, signed by former Haryana director general of police (DGP) Vikas Narain Rai, former UP DGP Vibhuti Narain Rai, former UP inspector general (IG) SR Darapuri, and retired UP IPS Vijay Shankar Singh, says that the dharam sansad was “a black mark on the history of a state with a long tradition of peace and democratic values.”
“This was an open attempt to spread fear and terror. But no one has been arrested for this criminal activity,” adds the letter, a copy of which is with TOI.
It further says that the statements made during the Haridwar Dharam Sansad were “an assault on the foundations of our democracy” and “a direct threat to our national security”.
The former police officials in their letter pointed out that “the Haridwar incident was simply an addition to the increasing list of hate crimes in Uttarakhand”, adding that “the state has never seen violence on this scale before”.
“What took place at the Dharam Sansad can’t be called mere speeches as since the current government came to power in 2017 there has been a series of violent incidents where mobs targeted residents, shops and places of worship belonging to religious minorities as well as in one case, the office of an opposition party,” the letter says, referring to the attack on the CPM party office in Dehradun, allegedly by BJP members, in October, 2017 and the attack on Roorkee church in October last year, when a mob of 200 miscreants vandalised the building and thrashed four people who were inside.
Questioning the state government’s role in cracking down on violence, the police officials wrote that “on October 4th, your government justified extending powers under the National Security Act to magistrates in the name of ‘incidents of violence occurring in the state’ but no serious action is being taken against those actually inciting violence, as at the Dharam Sansad.”
The letter further says that “draconian orders only seem to be aimed at inducing fear in those dissenting against your government” and “appears to be aimed at sending a clear message that religious minorities, and indeed anyone who is not with the ideology of your party, cannot expect the protection of the rule of law for their property, their freedom or their lives in your state”.
The letter requests the government to take four courses of action: arrest the organisers of Dharam Sansad, issue a public statement that such incidents will not be tolerated, take action against any organisation promoting or engaging in violence and implement 2018 orders of the Supreme Court on prevention of mob violence.
The Dharam Sansad, a closed door event, had been held from December 16 to 19 at Ved Niketan Dham at Bhopatwala in Haridwar. After its conclusion, videos had surfaced in which speakers could be seen making provocative speeches against minorities, with one speaker even issuing death threats to former PM Manmohan Singh for his “minority-appeasement views”. While five people have been booked in the case, including the event’s organiser Yati Narasinghanand, no arrests have been made yet.
The letter, dated January 1, signed by former Haryana director general of police (DGP) Vikas Narain Rai, former UP DGP Vibhuti Narain Rai, former UP inspector general (IG) SR Darapuri, and retired UP IPS Vijay Shankar Singh, says that the dharam sansad was “a black mark on the history of a state with a long tradition of peace and democratic values.”
“This was an open attempt to spread fear and terror. But no one has been arrested for this criminal activity,” adds the letter, a copy of which is with TOI.
It further says that the statements made during the Haridwar Dharam Sansad were “an assault on the foundations of our democracy” and “a direct threat to our national security”.
The former police officials in their letter pointed out that “the Haridwar incident was simply an addition to the increasing list of hate crimes in Uttarakhand”, adding that “the state has never seen violence on this scale before”.
“What took place at the Dharam Sansad can’t be called mere speeches as since the current government came to power in 2017 there has been a series of violent incidents where mobs targeted residents, shops and places of worship belonging to religious minorities as well as in one case, the office of an opposition party,” the letter says, referring to the attack on the CPM party office in Dehradun, allegedly by BJP members, in October, 2017 and the attack on Roorkee church in October last year, when a mob of 200 miscreants vandalised the building and thrashed four people who were inside.
Questioning the state government’s role in cracking down on violence, the police officials wrote that “on October 4th, your government justified extending powers under the National Security Act to magistrates in the name of ‘incidents of violence occurring in the state’ but no serious action is being taken against those actually inciting violence, as at the Dharam Sansad.”
The letter further says that “draconian orders only seem to be aimed at inducing fear in those dissenting against your government” and “appears to be aimed at sending a clear message that religious minorities, and indeed anyone who is not with the ideology of your party, cannot expect the protection of the rule of law for their property, their freedom or their lives in your state”.
The letter requests the government to take four courses of action: arrest the organisers of Dharam Sansad, issue a public statement that such incidents will not be tolerated, take action against any organisation promoting or engaging in violence and implement 2018 orders of the Supreme Court on prevention of mob violence.
The Dharam Sansad, a closed door event, had been held from December 16 to 19 at Ved Niketan Dham at Bhopatwala in Haridwar. After its conclusion, videos had surfaced in which speakers could be seen making provocative speeches against minorities, with one speaker even issuing death threats to former PM Manmohan Singh for his “minority-appeasement views”. While five people have been booked in the case, including the event’s organiser Yati Narasinghanand, no arrests have been made yet.
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