By Zeeshan Ahmed, IndiaTomorrow.net,
Ahmedabad, 02 Jan 2015: Human rights activists have condemned the police action of forcing the dummy terrorists to wear Muslim skull cap and shout slogans pertaining to Islam during an anti-terror mock drill in Surat and Narmada districts that took place about a week ago.
While Surat mock drill exercise came to surface yesterday, videos of the Narmada district reached mediapersons today. The anti-terror mock drills were conducted on the eve of two international events-Pravasi Bharatiya Divas between January 7-9 and Vibrant Gujarat summit between January 11-13.
The videos of the mock drill at the Sardar Sarovar Narmada dam at Kevadia colony in Narmada district shows two skull-capped dummy terrorists shouting “you can kill me if you want. Islam Zindabad.”
In another mock drill at Dabhari coastal area of Olpad in Surat district, the dummy terrorists wearing skull-cap were forced to say: “we will not take only Kashmir but Narmada dam too.”
The incident invited criticism and widespread condemnation. Jesuit human rights activist Father Cedric Prakash, who runs NGO Prashant (tranquility), said: “this is the most unconstitutional and criminal act on the part of the police to label the whole community as terrorists.”
He said that police had no right to label a community as terrorists.
He demanded that those responsible for the act to be brought to book.
“The incident that happened in Surat and Narmada districts amounts to denigrating a whole community”’, observed Fr Prakash.
Commenting on it, noted human rights activist Prof. J S Bandukwala said that it was extremely shameful for police to depict Muslims as terrorists.
“This is happening because the government is full of people with RSS ideology. They have no concern about Muslim sensibilities”, he said.
Bandukwala said that silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when one of BJP MPs described all Muslims as “bustards”’ and another termed Indian Muslims as Hindus, was encouraging the radicals within the administration to do whatever they wanted to do with Muslims.
He said that since Modi came to power with the help of hardcore Hindu groups and corporates, he had been keeping silence on the activities of Hindu radical groups and trying to extend largesses to corporate groups.
BJP’s state minority cell president Mahboob Bawa said it was wrong to link religion with terrorism.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel has said that it was a “mistake”’ on the part of police.
Narmada district superintendent of police Jayprakash Rathore told mediapersons that he had ordered a probe into the incident. Surat district superintendent of police Pradeep Sejul said that he would get it inquired and find out how such a mistake happened.
