After SC Order, Centre Forms Group Of Ministers To Probe Into Lynching Incidents

After a 28-year-old man was beaten to death in Alwar, Rajasthan on July 20 by villagers on suspicion of cow smuggling, the government and the opposition have been locking heads with each other. On July 17, the Supreme Court asked the centre to look into the increasing number of lynchings in the country. This led to the Centre appointing a Group of Ministers (GoM) to deal with the increasing number of lynching cases.

A high-level committee, headed by home secretary Rajiv Gauba, has been formed, that will submit its recommendation to the GoM led by home minister Rajnath Singh, a government statement said, reported Hindustan Times. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot constitute the members of the GoM.

“The government is concerned at the incidents of violence by mobs in some parts of the country. The government has already condemned such incidents, has made its stand clear in Parliament that it is committed to upholding the rule of law and adopting effective measures to curb such incidents,” a statement by the Home Ministry said, reported The Hindu.

Since May 2018, more than 20 people have been lynched in India over either fake rumours of child abductors on the loose or over cow vigilantism

Supreme Court warns against lynching

The Supreme Court described lynching as a “creeping threat”. The court further warned that lynching people due to fake rumours or twisted sense of morality would consume the country like a “typhoon-like monster.”

The Home Ministry said that they have taken into consideration what the Supreme Court had ordered and has also directed all State governments to follow the same.

The statement issued by the home ministry further said that according to the Constitution ‘Police‘ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects, hence, the states are solely responsible to maintain law and order and curb crime. It further informed that the National Crime Records Bureau does not maintain any record of lynchings of any sort.

The Ministry further said that they have notified the state governments from time to time to prevent such incidents from happening. “An advisory on addressing the issue of mob lynching on suspicion of child-lifting was issued on July 4. Earlier, an advisory was issued on August 9, 2016, on disturbances by miscreants in the name of protection of cow,” the statement said, reported The Hindu.