Don’t blame the police for doing its job
While the death of the Delhi teen who was hit by a stray bullet when his unruly biker gang clashed with the police, is tragic, it is unfair to blame law enforcement personnel for the accident. By all available accounts, the policemen had exhausted all other options before they fired live bullets. They had first warned the bikers over loudspeakers but to no avail. In fact, the number of bikers swelled to a hundred and the police team of about six found itself woefully outnumbered. So much so that reinforcements had to be called in, including a second PCR van. But this show of strength failed to deter the miscreants who vandalised the police van, and in the process injured three police officers. As resistance from the bikers built up, the police fired three shots — none of which was aimed at the bikers. The first two were fired in the air but again that had no impact. The third and last bullet that hit Karan Pandey was targeted at the rear tire of the bike which he was riding pillion. The bullet, however, pierced him because his driver, who was reportedly drunk, pulled a stunt at that same time, pushing the front tire into the air and bringing the 19-year-old in the line of fire. Had only the bikers listened to the police in the first place and not persisted with their stunts and games, Karan Pandey would have been alive. But by resisting the policemen and attacking them even, the bikers invited both danger and death — and there can scarcely be any excuse for their act.
Expectedly, the grieving family members of the deceased and the injured have lashed out at the police. Perhaps at a later moment, they will be able to reflect upon the fact that their boys wilfully put themselves in harm's way. For now, the bleeding heart jholawallahs who have swooped upon the scene like vultures on the dead, need to restrain their shrill anti-police sloganeering. They would also do well to stop advising the police on effective policing and questioning their actions — for instance, why were tear gas and water cannons not used instead of live bulletsIJ These are issues that will, no doubt, be looked into during course of the magisterial inquiry that has already been initiated to determine if the police's response was disproportionate to the threat. Until then, self-styled activists must refrain from making unsubstantiated claims against the police force.
Biker gangs, such as the ones that had gathered in central Delhi in the wee hours of Sunday, have become a menace, not just in the capital but across the country from Bengal to Rajasthan to Assam. Not only are such bikers, who often take to the streets in an adrenaline and alcohol-fuelled high, a risk to themselves, they are also a threat to passersby — whom they sometimes even harass and steal from. For instance, earlier this month, Delhi Police arrested two bikers near India Gate who were chasing a college student and passing lewd comments. It is the job of the police to rein in such troublemakers, and Delhi Police did its part this weekend when it cracked down on the biker gang. Had the policemen not done so, they would have been criticised by the same jholawallahs for being inefficient; now, that they have taken action, they are still at the receiving end. Clearly for some, the police can do nothing right.