With all the news of instability and conflict in Iraq and Afganistan I haven’t heard much in the news about the ongoing riots in Mumbai, but here was the situation in March:
Trouble broke out last Wednesday, when some labourers are alleged to have molested a girl in Ghansoli village during Holi celebrations. The villagers retaliated the next day, killing two port labourers, and attacking police vehicles. The police had to resort to firing, killing two people. The official who ordered the firing has been transferred, and the government has ordered an inquiry into the firing.
Seems like the place is ready to burst into riots at any time. Indeed, Mumbai has been a hot spot since the 1970s, and perhaps most noted for the 1984 Bhiwandi riots when nearly 150 people were killed. Most recently (three days ago) reports say citizens objected to a police station being built:
Trouble broke out at Bhiwandi after the authorities began constructing a police station on a plot of land adjacent to a mosque and a graveyard. Muslim organisations objected to the construction of a police station next to the graveyard, and demanded that the work be halted.
When the police refused, a mob of nearly a thousand marched on to the site on Wednesday, planning to demolish the police station. In the ensuing clash, stones were lobbed, injuring about 25 policemen. The police retaliated and fired on the crowd, killing two persons.
Later, two policemen were allegedly lynched by a mob. About 3,000 security personnel have been posted in the city. Security has also been stepped up in the communally sensitive town — which has seen horrific riots several times in the past — and Rapid Action Force troops have been deployed there.
Apparently the source of riots and conflict is rooted in deep mistrust between citizens and their police in a sprawling and densely populated urban area. That tension is now coupled with recent charges against one of the local police “celebrities”:
A warrant had been issued for the arrest of Daya Nayak after the Supreme Court rejected his application for anticipatory bail last week.
He is accused of involvement in killing more than 80 people in so-called “encounters” with alleged criminals.
Daya Nayak, who has been suspended, denies the charges.
Before surrendering, Mr Nayak made allegations of corruption and intimidation against senior colleagues past and present.
[…]
Until recently Mr Nayak was part of a five-member group of policemen in the elite crime intelligence unit, with a brief to take on Mumbai crime syndicates.
He and his colleagues are alleged to have killed hundreds of suspected criminals in shootouts.
The problem, apparently, is that many innocent people were being killed by this sharp-shooter. The charges threaten to undermine his own credibility as a crime-fighter, but it will be interesting to see if he is also able to implicate senior management in the process. Will justice stop the riots, or are the riots to stop justice?