2018.04.03 (VT): In a wave of violent protests in Mathura and across India yesterday, shops were looted, government and private property was set ablaze, trains were delayed, 9 people were killed and thousands more were injured. Thousands have of protesters been detained and arrested and the protests are paralyzing the nation.
There were long delays for passengers yesterday after trains were not able to pass through Mathura station. Protesters blocked railway tracks and hurled rocks at trains, causing injury to over 200 passengers, including women and children. Dozens of trains were stopped outside the city as protesters climbed onto train carriages at Mathura Station and terrorized passengers. Hundreds of protesters stormed the station looting the station shops and overturning garbage bins. The streets of Mathura were blocked by demonstrators and protesters destroyed several private vehicles and a Government bus.
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Protester destroying a signboard. P.C. Patrika.com
The protests being held against a Supreme Court ruling on March 20 which protects public servants from being arrested under the SC/ST Act without a preliminary inquiry. Previously, under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, public servants could be arrested on suspicion of atrocities against persons of Scheduled Caste and Tribal background. The Supreme Court ruled that the act was being misused to harass officials and amended the law. Under the amended law, after a complaint is made, public servants must be investigated within a 7 day period.
People of the SC/ST community feel that the law to protect them has been diluted and that there is no safety for those who lodge complaints if a person being investigated is at liberty to use their power to further threaten or harm the person making the complaint against them.
The Supreme Court has been petitioned to speed up the process of reviewing the law, however the court not yielding to pressure. Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, said there was no urgency to list the case, and that it would be taken up in time.
The situation in Braj is calmer than in other parts of India. In Jharkhand yesterday, 1600 people were arrested and 200 people were arrested in Meerut. In Gwalior, police imposed a curfew on some parts of the city and the internet was shut down in Punjab and Gwalior. Police have been injured by protesters and several protesters have been killed by police firing. Yesterday, 9 people lost their lives in the protests.
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Vehicles set alight by protesters, P.C. Sakib Ali/HT
Vrindavan is less affected by the protests than Mathura, but there is an atmosphere of fear and the streets are quiet. Children are missing another day of school due to the civil unrest. In Mathura, people are too afraid to open shops because of looters and several people had their cars burnt by protesters taking out their anger on private property. Innocent people have been injured and made to wait for hours for transport during extremely hot weather. Train windows were broken by stones and Government buses have been vandalized and set alight.
Mathura police allowed the protests to continue but, in other areas, police charged protesters with batons and opened fire. Local leaders and politicians are urging protesters to refrain from violence.
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