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Vigilante Justice

Vigilantes are those who take law into their own hands without legal sanction. It is usually due to the inadequacy of legal agencies that vigilantes grow. Lynching is a common form of vigilante justice meted out which is a extrajudicial justice motivated by non-existence of law and order. Vigilante justice is common in countries like South Africa, Somalia, Brazil and Philippines. The main cause for vigilantism is either that law enforcement agencies are not present or unable to enforce the law of the land.
Heard Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minster of Uttar Pradesh speak for the first time at the India Today forum- UP Panchayat .  He mostly spoke on the achievements and plans of the new government that took office less than two months back. Then there was an interview cum Q&A session compared by Rahul Kanwal. Only on the question of prohibition, Yogi wriggled out of answering it by stating that his priority is law and order. But everyone is expecting him to spring a surprise soon and impose ban of liquor consumption as huge support is there among women for emulating Bihar and Gujarat.
Uttar Pradesh, especially under SP had a poor record on law and order. One reason was the highly politicized police force in the state. Frequent transfers and appointments of officers due to special considerations had weakened the resolve of the police to fight crime. In addition to this, the free rein given to certain powerful people associated with the ruling party gave the perception that the government encouraged goonda raaj in Uttar Pradesh. It is to be seen how the new government will tackle the situation as there is a culture of nepotism ingrained into the psyche of Uttar Pradesh.
Vigilantism always starts with good intentions. If the state looks the other way and thus allows vigilantes to prosper, it will one day weaken the state. The transfer of authority from an elected body to an extra-judicial one can only cause the break down of law and order machinery in the state. The anti-romeo squad of the Uttar Pradesh police and the cow protection squads are in the news for unleashing violence on people. The excesses of these extra-judicial groups can only cause hardship for the government and create a negative image at the same time. The promise of reigning in the extremists must be followed through otherwise Uttar Pradesh will not prosper in the true sense.


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