Drug addicts live outside the law but do their acts mean that they do not deserve society’s protections as well?
Several incidents of drug addicts being assaulted by members of the public (thrashings that have been filmed and then shared on social media) have come to the fore and they have been worrying enough for the police and government spokesperson to plead for such vigilantism to end.
Even the government’s own figures show that drug use in Meghalaya has ballooned in recent years. A rise, whether real or only perceived, in cases of theft has been blamed on this. On the other hand, places in rehabilitation centres have not been able to keep up with the explosion in addicts and there is a deep sense of frustration at the law’s inability to deal effectively with users and sellers – police make arrests but bail is often secured and the slow pace of the Indian judicial system means that the suspects are back on the streets and back to their old habits.
What has made things worse is the reported attacks by drug users against children that have made the news recently. At least one of these cases, where two men were said to have jabbed a needle into a girl’s arm in Jaiaw, has been ruled to have been false. However, attacks on children could quite easily lead to public hysteria.
There, therefore, appears to be a large amount of sympathy for vigilantes taking the law into their own hands and giving drug addicts a sound thrashing.
This kind of violence, sadly, is not unheard of in Meghalaya.
Members of pressure groups, in the name of checking for illegal migrants (a job no one appointed them to do), often rough up non-tribals. A prevalent belief in witchcraft and black magic will occasionally lead to attacks against suspected practitioners.
This violence at times is deadly. It is now almost three years exactly since I Love You Talang, a suspect in a gruesome murder case, and three others who escaped from jail with him, were lynched to death by villagers. Talang was so reviled that even his own family disowned him. But let us not forget that he was still innocent as no court had convicted him of any crime. Do we not hold any store in the rule of law?
And then there was the recent case of Bangladeshi criminals who assaulted, stole from and threatened to kill a local Meghalayan in South West Khasi Hills. Several of these criminals were thrashed by villagers and one lost his life.
We are in possession of a civilised judicial system. It is slow and imperfect and a more robust police force and application of stricter laws might help at least in reassuring the public. But this almost casual vigilantism practised in Meghalaya in the 21st century is extremely dangerous. Not just dangerous to individuals but to society as a whole. It cannot and must not be condoned.
