A complete failure of Police machinery: Minorities Commission chairman

A file picture shows the burnt state transport bus and a few other vehciles in Chakrapani Colony, Bhosri, Pune on June 1, 2014. Photo: Special Arrangement.

Maharashtra State Minorities Commission chairman Munaf Hakim hit out at the police machinery, stating that the murder of the 28-year-old Muslim man in Pune reflected the failure of the police machinery.

Mohisn Shaikh, an IT professional, was killed in Pune on Monday allegedly by members of the Hindu Rahstra Sena, a radical right-wing organization. Seventeen members of the HRS have been arrested so far. The incident followed violent protests in the city over the weekend, after derogatory photographs of Shivaji and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray emerged on Facebook.

Mr Hakim stated that had the police taken preventive measures after the weekend of violent protests, Mohisn's murder could have been stopped. “This is a complete failure of the police machinery. Even after three days, the police could not control the situation,” he said.

Mr Hakim met with representatives of police, district administration and Muslim delegations community in the city. “There were deliberate attempts to organise a confrontation of two communities by spreading derogatory images on social networking sites. The police could not stop this,” he said.

He said that the HRS had been active in the city even before the incident, and yet the police and intelligence services had failed to gauge the threat posed by the organization.

Asked by

The Hindu if he was in favour of banning organisations like HRS, he said, “Banning alone will not be the solution. They will have to be dealt with legally. HRS has been posting pamphlets against the Muslim community. This should have been dealt with by the police.”