Rajasthan govt reveals blueprint for police to combat lynchings

Rajasthan’s home minister Gulabchand Kataria said on Friday that the state government has prepared a blueprint to prevent the mob lynchings, with steps such as identifying sensitive areas, increasing the presence of the police and specifying nodal officers.

The Bharatiya Janata Party in the state has faced renewed criticism after a 29-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death late last month by suspected cow vigilantes in Alwar, where three people engaged in the cattle trade have been killed since April last year.

“A team of informers will be prepared to enable the police to respond quickly to the possibility of mob lynching in remote areas. The way to do this is to increase the police mobility in remote areas and for that, we will soon be issuing 700 motorcycles,” Kataria told HT.

“The police officials have been asked to increase the vigilance and take preventive steps to ensure that such incidents do not take place ... It’s important is to establish a proper channel of communication between the people in remote areas and the police,” he added.

Police have admitted they made a mistake in handling the case. Local officials allegedly took nearly three hours to take Khan to hospital, and also of first taking him to police station and beating him up.

JAIPUR:

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