For the last months, there was some respite on this front, but the killing of DSP has once again raised the fear of communal tension, because the police officer happened to belong to Muslim community.

The killing of the police officer named Zia ul Haque is still shrouded in mystery. Though, Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya has been named in the FIR filed by the wife of the slain officer for hatching the conspiracy of his murder, the investigation has yet to reach on any conclusion. He was killed in a fast moving development, in which a village head named Nanhe Yadav had been killed by some unidentified assailants. The supporters of Nanhe Yadav under the leadership of his brother Suresh Yadav attacked a former village headman, who was suspected to be behind his murder. The former village headman is being dubbed as a man of Raja Bhaiya, the strongman of Kunda. One of his drivers named Guddu Singh is said to have a land dispute with the slain Nanhe Yadav.

When the supporters of Nanhe Yadav and Guddu Singh were fighting, the DSP intervened. He was caught in the crossfire and was killed immediately. He was not there alone, but a strong police force was with him, but most of the policemen deserted him. The effort of the slain DSP must be appreciated, but the fact that most of the police personnel accompanying him fled from the scene reflects a grim reality of the state of UP police and its relationship with the political powers. Since the people fighting were well connected politically, the majority of the policemen thought it safe to be away from the scene. It is not clear, when the policemen deserted his leader. One can only say that they did not have guts to face the politically well connected people who were running the show when DSP had died or was to die.

It seemed to be a case of death of a police officer encountering some criminals. A police officer’s job is naturally a risky job and threat to life is never ruled out in this profession. Many cops fall victim to the bullets of the criminals. But the present case is not mere a case of a police officer getting killed by criminals, but it has taken a communal dimension, because of some irresponsible comments and reactions of some Ministers of Akhilesh government. Mr. Azam Khan was one among them for issuing such irresponsible statement. He said that after the death of that Muslim DSP, he was not in a position to show his face to his Samaj (read Muslim community). Religious leaders like Imam Bukhari started issuing communal statements for the killing of the DSP, which had nothing to do with his religious identity. Zia ul Haque was not killed there, because he was a Muslim. He was killed because he was there on his duty as a brave police officer.

But the leaders of Uttar Pradesh were reacting in a manner, as if he was killed because he was a Muslim. Opposition leaders belonging to BSP and Congress got an opportunity to show Akhilesh Government in poor light among the Muslims, and the Muslim leaders belonging to Samajwadi Party lost no opportunity to flex their muscles before the Chief Minister to show their importance. In this dirty politics, the communal passion is rising and people are now protesting even under the banner of Babri Masjid Action Committee.

Raj Bhaiya has become another issue, which may raise retaliatory communal passion. He has resigned from the Ministry, but demand of his arrest may pose another problem for the government. When the killing took place, he was in Lucknow meeting the CM along with one of his associates, who also has been named in the FIR filed by the wife of the slain DSP. Though, he has offered himself to be arrested to save the state government for the embarrassment, it is not easy to prove his guilt in this incident. Again, it is not clear, which of the two warring parties killed him.

This incident has definitely put Akhilesh government in a spot. He had to visit the house of the slain DSP under pressure and there is pressure upon him to visit the Yadav brothers of Walipur village. It is worth mentioning that a brother of slain Nanhe Yadav was also killed in the mayhem, which had killed the DSP. It is not known, whether the DSP was killed in retaliation of the death of Suresh Yadav, the brother of slain headman of the village. Now the CM had to give sufficient compensation to the slain brothers as well.

The swearing in of Akhilesh Yadav as CM of Uttar Pradesh has given rise to the hope that he will rule the unruly state with fresh mindset, but it seems that he has yet to fulfill that hope. The present situation is the outcome of some undesirable outbursts of his own ministers, who assume themselves above the CM. Now it is time for the young CM to assert himself. He must ask his senior ministers to behave in a responsible manner. Prior to Assembly Elections, Akhilesh had refused DP Yadav to join his party and he was acclaimed a lot for that. That contributed as factor for the victory of SP. The CM has to show the same spirit now and rule the state with a firm hand. He should throw out the criminal and communal elements from his government.(IPA Service)