JOIN USHaryana suspects conspiracy behind violent riots
The Haryana government now suspects a conspiracy behind the violent Jat agitation in the state spiralling out of control in a matter of days.
An agitation of this magnitude unfolding so rapidly and turning violent within no time could not have been without conspirators who wanted to sabotage a process of dialogue that had been underway, said an official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Even Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday gave air to the conspiracy theory saying there were “some forces behind this agitation”. The government is trying to uncover the truth to bring the guilty to book.
A probe has been ordered to ascertain if officials, both from the police and the civil administration, were lax in discharging their duty. It could either have been by design or otherwise, which is now a matter of probe. Khattar said a “thorough investigation of the entire chain of events would be conducted and conspirators would be exposed.”
Khattar visited the epicenter of the crisis in Rohtak district on Tuesday only to be heckled by angry people. He was welcomed by furious protesters who not only confronted the chief minister but also interrupted his brief speech.
Police inaction
Even after the protests turned violent, the police continued to remain a mute spectator at many places. Whether it was intentional or for want of necessary direction or political will is a matter that now is being scrutinised.
Angry, tormented non-Jats, who faced the brunt of the agitation as their houses, vehicles and commercial establishments were reduced to ashes by the mob, said the curfew that was clamped in many parts of the trouble-torn districts was only for peace loving, law abiding residents and that Jat protesters couldn’t care less about any curfew.
The mob comprising of Jat agitators ran amok with impunity.
Reports here state the police were bystanders to the entire crisis and failed to act against the Jat protesters who kept burning properties, especially of non-Jat’s, as if they had some immunity from law.
Khattar’s image among his own core constituents, too, has taken a beating since the government failed to protect their property.
Non-Jat’s say the least the government was mandated to do was to maintain law and order and protect its citizens from “lawless brigades” and hoodlums going berserk. The government machinery largely failed to protect people and their property, they said.
On the audio clip of an ex-adviser of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, that talks about inciting violence and gives credence to the conspiracy angle, Khattar said the clip would be thoroughly investigated.
“If the involvement of any person belonging to any political party or organisation is found, he would not be spared,” he said. The Congress has served a show-cause notice to Prof Varinder who is in the thick of the audio controversy.