In the heartland’s badlands where crime writes the curriculum, caste is the syllabus and murder writes the chapters, the police write the exams. They get lessons in the Indian Penal Code from their criminal and political classmates. On Friday morning, ganglord and caste captain Vikas Dubey failed the murder lesson. He was shot dead by Uttar Pradesh cops who were taking him back to his criminal Patal Lok. Dubey, warned by police stooges of an impending raid, had gunned down eight cops the previous week. The UP Police was rudely shaken out of its stupor of caste camaraderie and political patronage by the slaughter of their own. Half a dozen of Dubey’s associates encountered police bullets.
The template was the same adopted by police forces everywhere: gangster is caught, taken in a police vehicle, vehicle stalls or meets with an accident, gangster seizes policeman’s pistol and fires at cops who gun him down in self-defence. Despite procedural and legal holes in the narrative, public mood was overwhelmingly in favour of the state.
The liberal furore over Dubey’s death has reignited the debate over the politician-police-criminal nexus, not just in Uttar Pradesh but also in other parts of India. Dubey wasn’t a dilettante desperado. He represented a powerful criminal class that enjoys social, political and community legitimacy and endorsement, thanks to their utility to politicians and police. Even after being booked in several murder cases, he had been out on bail.
His house was a criminal democracy—a regal rendezvous for the rich, powerful and the poor alike. Since caste is the supreme subtext of UP’s politics and society, Dubey was the uncrowned maharaja of the middle and lower class Brahmin community in Kanpur and around. It’s no coincidence that the majority of his victims and aides killed by cops and cops he slaughtered were from the same community. Predictably, the political cacophony over Dubey’s thuggish collusion with the law exposed the region’s ignoble and incapacitated law and order machinery.
With the no-nonsense CM Yogi Adityanath leading from the front, trigger-happy goons were expected to crawl back into their hideouts. But the state’s faction and caste-ridden police force and bureaucracy are infected by a perpetual predilection — the lust for power and crippling their opponents. Caste, like in Dubey’s case, is the murderous mosaic of the encounter environment. Since Yogi is a Thakur, a campaign against his government alleging persecution of Brahmins and other castes which challenge the establishment has gained traction.
The heartland has a long history of heartless villains who play politics with blood and bullets. In fact, the rise of the political dons began in the early 1980s when caste leaders became instruments to acquire power and wield weapons to silence foes. In February 1981, Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi mowed down 20 upper caste persons in Behmai village, barely 50 km from Kanpur. It forced the then CM VP Singh to resign.
Singh was the first CM to back encounter killings. The police shot down over 50 criminals during his short tenure. A case was filed in the Supreme Court, which promptly ordered a judicial inquiry. Surprisingly, 40 years after the massacre none of the 39 accused have been convicted. While 35 individuals related to the episode including Phoolan Devi have died, the relatives of the victims are awaiting justice. Phoolan became an icon and was awarded a Lok Sabha seat by the Samajwadi Party in 1996 following her release from jail. In a twist of caste karma, she was slain in 2001.
Between 1980 and 2000, local dons with community and caste credentials were chosen to mobilise voters in favour of various parties. Since the Congress was considered the party of upper castes like Brahmins and Thakurs, dons like Hari Shankar Tiwary became coveted caste influencers in Eastern UP. Not only could he sway the tide of victory, he became a lawmaker himself exemplifying the transition of the criminal to legitimate leadership.
During the mid-1990s, UP was polarised by the Ram Mandir issue, which saw the emergence of mainstream Muslim gangster netas like Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari. They were the darlings of both BSP and SP as vote swingers. Numerous cases of arson, murder and other transgressions have been registered against them. Virender Shahi, another Thakur don from Eastern UP, faced police ire, too. Strangely, even after four decades none of them have been convicted. Some of them even managed to shift from UP jails after Yogi became the chief minister.
The monk from Gorakhpur flaunts his commitment to eliminate criminals who abhor reform. He has given the authorities full freedom to go after gangsters. Bolstered by his unconditional support, cops boast about successful and lethal action against criminals. Last year when former UP chief minister Mayawati challenged the Yogi administration over the worsening law and order situation, the police responded in an equally harsh tone.
After Hyderabad police killed in an encounter all four men accused in the gang rape and murder of a 26-year old veterinarian, Mayawati tweeted on December 6: “Crimes against women are on the rise in Uttar Pradesh, but the state government is sleeping. Police here and also in Delhi should take inspiration from Hyderabad Police, but unfortunately here criminals are treated like state guests, there is jungle raj in UP right now.” Within a short time UP police tweeted: “The figures speak for themselves. Jungle Raj is a thing of the past. No longer now. 103 criminals killed and 1859 injured in 5178 police engagements in the last more than 2 years. 17745 criminals surrendered or cancelled their own bails to go to jail. Hardly state guests.”
Yogi has the full blessing of the Central leadership. Addressing a rally last year, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Till the time the SP and the BSP ruled the state, criminals would roam freely. But, after Yogi Adityanath assumed office, criminals are seen moving with a ‘patta’ (placard) reading ‘arrest us but don’t do encounter’.” However for the Chief Minister, Dubey’s ends is a golden opportunity to squidge an unholy culture of shoot and scoot and restore fear and respect for law. Otherwise, many more Dubeys, Ahmeds will sprout all over the state like they did in the past.
Yogi’s ill-wishers constantly allege that he targets only non-Thakurs, a charge he strongly refutes. According to the police, many omnipotent Thakur legislators have been sent to jail after being caught and convicted for serious offences. Yogi is unflappably unapologetic about his relentless law and order strategy. With a corrupt investigative machinery and unresponsive judiciary forcing conviction rates to plummet, the system has found its own methods to deal with those who kill at will.
Liberals all over the world are rattled by the use of lethal deadly police force while forgetting that silenced voices too have the right to live with dignity. Criminals can’t be allowed to enjoy the latitude of luxury as they murder and maim. Dogmas are contingent on the situation. Might is right gains credibility when used in favour of the mundane masses and not to defend maestros of murder.
prabhu chawla
prabhuchawla@newindianexpress.com
Follow him on Twitter @PrabhuChawla