scorecardresearch
Assam: A poor vegetable seller Sanatan Deka's murder exposes faultlines

Assam: A poor vegetable seller Sanatan Deka's murder exposes faultlines

advertisement
sanatan deka lynch sanatan deka lynch

Sanatan Deka, a common household name in the Kamrup and adjacent areas of Assam suffered a "tragic" fate in the hands of few goons. He was beaten to death over a reason that is beyond comprehensible.

On 22nd May, Sanatan Deka cycled from Bormeshwar to Monahkuchi, 10 Km from Hajo's Madhab Mandir to sell vegetables. On his way, he collided with Jalil Ali that led to his cycle causing a scratch on the latter's scooter. It led to an altercation and Fasisil Haq who was present at the spot started beating the poor vegetable seller. Deka was then unconscious and was later brought in to the hospital, where he succumbed to death on the May 23rd.

Sanatan Deka worked at a company and owing to the lockdown had to resort to selling vegetables, which has been the compulsion for many in Assam, even skilled labourers.

The religion at work

Following the incident, many social media handles have tried to "communalise" the issue based on the people involved and arrested in the act. This created the potential for Assam's multicultural society facing a big setback since Hajo defines the syncretic traditions of both Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists of the state.

As such, Inside Northeast, enquired locals in both Hajo town and Monahkuchi areas where locals have "dismissed" the religion angle. Speaking to Inside Northeast, Rubul Das who is a resident of Monahkuchi corroborated the entire story. When asked about the faith angle, he replied, "there's nothing in this". The locals of Gayantola, Hajo also refuted such links.

Meanwhile, the Kamrup Police have taken two prime accused, Faizul Haque and Eyusuf Ahmed into custody. Speaking to Inside Northeast, Kamrup SP Partha Mahanta said, "we have apprehended the culprits and there might be few on the run. We have charged them 302 IPC". According to section 302 of the Indian penal code, whoever commits murder shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.

On the issue taking a religious turn, the SP clarified, "if we find a religious angle, the investigation will be done accordingly".

Thus, so far there's no religious angle involved, and only after further inquiry will reveal if any facts that remain hidden.

The Bigger Issue

Beyond the convenient religious accusation lies a macro concern, which is that of lynchings. India has seen increasing cases of lynchings in recent times with the advent of fake news spreading through WhatsApp. Just recently, in Maharasthra, 2 Sadhus were killed by a mob. In Assam, the infamous incident of Abhi-Neel in Karbi Anglong. The doctor Deben Dutta was also beaten to death by workers in Jorhat district. These instances along with the Sanatan Deka episode have a common link in them. Even after getting attention from civil society and media - swift justice is not materialised to them.

Also read: ‘Exposes govt’s poor planning’: Gaurav Gogoi on stone-pelting at NE bound Shramik train

A world without John Rawls

In the case of the Dokmoka Mob Lynching of Abhi-Neel, it has been 2 years but the identification process is going on with reports of even witnesses revoking their original statements. Speaking to Inside Northeast, Ittisha Sarah, a friend of Nilotpal Das, speaks about the difficulties the friends and family of the Abhi-Neel case have been exposed to. "We are in the identification process and remain hopeful, yet its been 2 years and we are still not in the arguments phase", said Ittisha. She also mentioned that witnesses have revoked their earlier statements made before the district magistrate under the pressure of the locals and other parties with vested interests. "We couldn't have the examination of witnesses for almost a year", said Sarah. She highlighted the difficulty from her personal experience is that of the very nature of the crime that involves many people. "There's no anti-lynching law and it is difficult to determine which stroke killed a person. This is the loophole, mobs use as they believe they can get away if a bigger crowd is involved".

What have we learned?

After the horrific instances of lynchings, the state govt has not yet brought in law even after the SC judgment in Tehseen Poonawalla vs Union of India (2018) that directed states regarding the issue. The SC specified, "there can be no shadow of a doubt that the authorities which are conferred with the responsibility to maintain law and order in the States have the principal obligation to see that vigilantism, be it cow vigilantism or any other vigilantism of any perception, does not take place". Following this, Manipur and Rajasthan have brought in their own Anti-Lynching laws following the SC recommendations which specified the punitive and remedial measures. Meanwhile, there's no communication from the Assam govt in this front

The problem of definition

In the Sanatan Deka-Hajo incident the police have charged the involved with 302 IPC. But, is it actually lynching amid the popular usage and social media trails?

The Manipur Law has defined mob lynchings as “any act or series of acts of violence or aiding, abetting such act/acts thereof, whether spontaneous or planned, by a mob on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity or any other related grounds.” The word spontaneous here is important. Wasn't the Hajo case a spontaneous response?

"Lynching is an affront to the rule of law and to the exalted values of the Constitution itself", the SC has strongly worded this but so far there have been no intentions shown by the Centre, which has been lethargic on this issue that certainly has not helped any of the parties concern.

The status quo

Another learning from the Abhi-Neel case is that of enforcement, inferred from the slow pace and technicalities it has had to face. So, if we have an anti-lynching law that clarifies lynching, there will still be bottlenecks. The definition of the crime and the enforcement issues related to every IPC cases makes these issues complex.

Speaking to Inside Northeast, Advocate Anirveda Sharma, said, "we need a comprehensive definition like that of Manipur as to what constitutes lynching as identification of the assailants gets problematic. Secondly, a lot incidence of lynchings is taking place in police vicinity where there are unable and not willing to take action". On such dereliction of duty, he simplified the Manipur model, "when it comes to public officials the requirement of sanction has been eliminated thereby authorities of law enforcement can do swift action (in the context of the recent Sadhu lynching where Police were also present but couldn't do anything)". On the Manipur experience, he said, "what the state govt has tried is to eliminate the permission from govt whereby authorities can act swiftly. This is a healthy step going forward but there are other key issues that hinder the investigation process of such cases like under financing and understaffed which in turn delays the justice delivery mechanism potential".

However, as things stand, none of these laws have been passed and languish for approval from the President.

Going forward

Amid the technicalities, it is important to not forget that a poor vegetable seller's life has been lost.

But, few questions are pertinent.

Is the govt doing anything to stop these cases from happening further? How will Deka's family get justice even after this huge outcry or will it fade like the other cases? How sensitive are we as a society to break the communal harmony instead of solving the issues from the ground?

Photo of the family of the deceased Sanatan Deka

-with inputs from Anirveda Sharma

Readers like you make Inside Northeast’s work possible.

To support our brand of fearless and investigative journalism, support us HERE.

Download:

The Inside Northeast app HERE for News, Views, and Reviews from Northeast India.

Do keep following us for news on-the-go. We deliver the Northeast.

Edited By: Admin
Published On: May 25, 2020