New Delhi: Amid the backlash that police has been facing for action against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters, especially the crackdown on students of Jamia Millia Islamia Sunday, there is one Bengaluru policeman who is winning the internet.
Chetan Singh Rathode, the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru (Central), sang the national anthem along with protesters at the city’s Town Hall Thursday.
#WATCH Karnataka: DCP of Bengaluru(Central),Chetan Singh Rathore sings national anthem along with protesters present at the Town Hall in Bengaluru, when they were refusing to vacate the place. Protesters left peacefully after the national anthem was sung. #CitizenshipAmendmentAct pic.twitter.com/DLYsOw3UTP
— ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2019
A video of the incident has been widely shared on social media with people praising the officer for his presence of mind and ability to peacefully disperse the agitators. The clip shows protesters quietly leaving the place without any argument.
The DCP, standing in the middle of a large crowd, can be heard saying “…when people speak in anger, a mob mentality arises and everyone, including me (him) will then have to pay the price”.
He continues: “…miscreants could be hidden among us, and if they capitalise this protest it will turn into a mob, and we will all be defeated….if you believe in me, then all our countrymen should sing with me.”
Rathode then begins to sing the national anthem with the crowd rising to join him.
Also read: After Jamia brutality, Delhi Police serve tea to protesters and discuss citizenship law
Protests against ‘police brutality’
Protests against the citizenship law erupted at various places across the country Thursday, including in cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Mangaluru. Many were also subjected to lathi charge and mass detentions by police.
Section 144 was imposed in parts of New Delhi, Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. In Mangaluru, two people were killed in protests that turned violent.
The nationwide stir began after Parliament passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on 11 December. The Act seeks to grant citizenship to persecuted Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. It does not specifically mention the Muslim community.
The government has justified this exclusion by saying that the Act is applicable only to “persecuted minorities” from the three countries.
In addition to the discriminatory nature of the Act, protesters have also been agitating against police brutality on students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University on 15 December.
Also read: Assam unrest continues with anti-Citizenship Act protests, no violence reported
how cool is that! the truth is that the police is not spontaneously brutal (with some exceptions) – orders came from the top. police is human – it is unfair to ask it to strike peaceful citizens, its own people. the person responsible for the brutality is the HM. HM Shah must go!