The elections in Uttar Pradesh are approaching, and the opposition appears determined to ensure that something extraordinary happens that could trigger unrest in the state, making the Chief Minister either appear incapable of maintaining law and order or creating turmoil over caste and religion. The recent case from Meerut seems to suggest exactly that. Lalita, a young woman from Meerut, was murdered in the month of May. The accused were arrested, and it emerged that Lalita and the accused knew each other. The girl belonged to the Dalit community, while the accused youth belonged to the OBC community. In political terms, this meant that no advantage could be drawn from the case.
The boy suspected the girl was involved with someone else. He therefore called her to meet him, killed her, and even poured acid on her body. Since the accused was not from the upper castes, the case could not be projected as one of oppression against Dalits. The police acted immediately and arrested the accused. But why did the controversy over Lalita's death erupt in the month of July? That remains a major question.
According to sources, a crowd gathered outside the Meerut Collectorate in July to demand justice for Lalita. It was difficult to understand why such a gathering was organized when the accused in Lalita's murder had already been arrested. This raised suspicion within the police regarding who was instigating the issue after such a long gap. What exactly was being planned through this mobilization? According to police sources, around 2,000 people had come from Delhi to participate in the protest, and among the crowd were several faces who had frequently been seen during the Shaheen Bagh protest. Sources claim that, under the pretext of the girl's death, full preparations had been made to create another Shaheen Bagh at the Meerut Collectorate.
However, the protest took a dramatic turn when the district's SSP entered a police van and slapped a protester named Ravi Gautam. Eyewitnesses also saw that Ravi Gautam was repeatedly provoking the police to assault him so that it would become a news story. It happened to be his good fortune that the SSP ended up beating him. The SSP is a Brahmin, while Ravi Gautam is a Dalit, creating what became a perfect combination for opposition political parties. Naturally, the crowd that had allegedly been brought from Delhi for the protest succeeded in achieving its objective. There was an uproar; the matter was projected as one of Dalit oppression, and first Chandrashekhar and then Akhilesh Yadav used the incident politically.
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The point worth noting is that Chandrashekhar did not become active after the murder of the Dalit girl because the accused also belonged to the OBC community. However, the moment the Brahmin SSP slapped Ravi Gautam, Chandrashekhar took to the streets. The issue was framed as one in which Dalits were not allowed to voice their concerns. Meanwhile, district officials had met the girl's parents several times, and the victim's family was satisfied with the police action. Then why did the issue suddenly reach the streets two months later? That is something that deserves attention.
The rape of a daughter belonging to any community is shameful. Political parties often exploit such incidents for their own benefit. In Meerut as well, there was intense competition to derive political mileage from the case. Chandrashekhar came out on the streets along with his supporters. Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hasan seated the victim's family in her car and brought them directly to Delhi to meet Akhilesh Yadav. Akhilesh handed the victim's family an envelope containing Rs 2 lakh and posed for photographs. Those very photographs are now being circulated widely on social media to project that Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party is the true well-wisher of the PDA.
The Lalita case in Meerut arose from a crime driven by personal motives. The girl belonged to the Dalit community, while the accused youth belonged to the OBC community. Perhaps that is why political leaders from Delhi did not rush to Meerut. However, with elections around the corner, political self-interest could also lead to organized protests. Unnecessary agitation could be encouraged to vitiate the atmosphere, inconvenience people, and allow political leaders to take to the streets to reap their respective political gains. There is a need to maintain a vigilant watch over such professional agitators.
