Tale of Two Funerals: The Contrasts in State's Responses Give Rise to Suspicion of Hate

Ever since the politician-strongman Vikas Dubey was killed in an alleged fake encounter by the Police, the issue has spiraled into a "caste crisis". Apparently, there have been several cases of crime against the Brahmin community in the state of Uttar Pradesh in the recent years and UP Police has not been able to console and win the confidence of the Brahmin community. I have seen such newspaper articles mentioning these concerns. And then, the surreal Vikas Dubey Murder happened. 

Vikas Dubey Murder Was Politically Motivated

There is no apparent public sympathy for Vikas Dubey, not even from the Brahmin community. It is so because of the crimes he did, including his men shooting down the Police team which went to arrest him, or allegedly, to do his fake encounter on the 2nd of July night. But the fact cannot be ignored that the man had surrendered voluntarily in front of the police in a very peaceful manner. He was ready to cooperate and face trial for his crimes. Since the charges against him were extraordinary in nature, he could face life imprisonment or even capital punishment, and even then he had surrendered. There was no apparent reason for the Police to murder him in cold blood, apart from having strict instruction from the political leadership. And this makes his killing a case of "political murder". 

Counter-Case of Munna Bajrangi from the Rajput Caste Supporters of Adityanath Yogi

One another case is being often cited by the supporters of Adityanath Yogi, which is the murder of a big Rajput gangster famously named Munna Bajrangi (real name: Prem Prakash Singh). Munna Bajrangi was a Rajput Gangster who had killed a very famous Brahmin MLA of that time: Krishnanand Rai. Sometime after Adityanath Yogi came to power in UP, Munna Bajrangi was murdered inside the Baghpat jail, a few hours after he was shifted from another jail by the Police. There were accusations made that he was killed by the UP government too. But the facts of the case do not indicate it. 

If UP Police had to murder Munna, they could have easily killed him during the road journey in a fake encounter, alleging that he was trying to flee. There was no reason to bring him all the way from Jhansi safely and then to kill him "inside a jail"; which was certainly to bring heavy bad press for the government. It was evident that another UP gangster Sunil Rathi had murdered Munna, allegedly because of some personal dispute (his relative was beaten up by Munna's men in another jail). 

Adityanath Yogi's response after murder of Munna Bajrangi:

Following were Adityanath Yogi's response after the murder of Munna Bajrangi:

1. Adityanath Yogi gave a statement to the Press that the murder was a "serious matter" since the murder happened inside a jail in UP
2. Adityanath Yogi suspended 4 personnel including jailers for the lapse
3. CBI Enquiry is being conducted to find the possible conspiracy behind this murder 

Adityanath Yogi's response after murder of Vikas Dubey:

Let us contrast this, with what happened after Brahmin gangster Vikas Dubey was killed: 

1. Adityanath did not express any regret over killing of Vikas Dubey. Whole government congratulated the police for it. In fact as per news reports CM Yogi had conducted a meeting with officials while Vikas Dubey was at large where it was decided to do his encounter
2. No police officers were suspended; in fact the police officers involved in the fake encounter were felicitated with garlands by social (BJP) workers
3. No CBI inquiry would be done. State govt formed a group to probe the encounter. But another SIT was formed to probe all financial dealings of Vikas Dubey too; so that govt could take away all his illegal family property 

Looking at the above; we can clearly see that government was more compassionate for Munna Bajrangi even though he was a much bigger gangster and govt was acting with vengeance against Vikas Dubey; giving clue to the fact that while the former was a gang related murder, the later was a "political murder". 

Now let us also compare the manner in which "funerals" of these two were done. 

Munna Bajrangi Funeral: 

1. Munna Bajrangi was given a proper cremation according to Hindu faith on the banks of River Ganga at famous Manikarnika Ghat at Varanasi 
2. Munna Bajrangi's son gave mukhagni to him, which according to Hinduism is needed for the soul to properly depart from earth 
3. The Police provided security to the area in plain clothes 
4. You can see above images of Munna Bajrangi's funeral from Google image search. His son is seen with head shaven. It looks like a big event, as if it was a cremation of some big respected religious Hindu personality. But the reality is that Munna Bajrangi was a criminal and a member of dreaded don Mukhtar Ansari's criminal gang. 

Now let us see how the funeral of Brahmin gangster Vikas Dubey was done.

Funeral of Vikas Dubey: 

Since this is a recent news, instead of image results, Google is showing News and Videos results. But if we read these news, we shall be shocked. 

1. Vikas Dubey was cremated in an "Electric Crematorium" amidst heavy security by the police
2. Vikas Dubey's son was not allowed to give mukhagni to him. When media personnel asked why his younger son was not being allowed to give mukhagni since he was present at the site, the Police did not answer. His distant relative, brother-in-law gave him mukhagni 
3. During the week before his killing, the police had arrested anyone and everyone in his village and people were so terrified that they all shunned attending his funeral. Only Vikas Dubey's wife and younger son could attend it
4. By the time Vikas Dubey's elder son (who is studying to become a Doctor) came, cremation was already over. The young man could not even see his father for the last time; it was inhuman
5. The media personnel started asking probing and moral questions to his wife if she considered Vikas a good man or not. She was already crying and shouting at media personnel to leave her alone. In frustration, she ended up shouting "yes, he did all that, he got what he deserved". After that, all media houses showed news headline telling, "Vikas Dubey's Wife Says He Deserved It". This was utter disregard to any moral and ethical standards by media. 

The human aspect of this event cannot be ignored.

Summary

Even though Vinay Dubey had supposedly done many crimes, he was still a Hindu (and a Brahmin). He deserved proper cremation as per Hindu tradition. The manner in which he was denied proper Hindu cremation and his sons were not allowed to give him mukhagni, gives rise to suspicion that the government hated him totally. Perhaps they wanted his soul to suffer even in the afterlife and they made sure he does not get proper cremation to ensure that. 

The contrasting difference between how Adityanath Yogi, a Rajput, took decisions in case of murder of Munna Bajrangi, a Rajput Vs Vikas Dubey, a Brahmin, clearly leaves too much to suspect. It is difficult to believe that it all happened due to ignorance. No government should be so irresponsible that it should send a message that it hates a particular community, even if it does not actually mean to do so. 

I had earlier written that the current Adityanath Yogi government is losing its "perception battle" and lacks the "maturity" which is needed to handle bigger roles. After seeing the manner in which Dubey family has been treated during last few days, I am totally disappointed in him. Hope he becomes more mature as he ages. He is going to be 50 soon and cannot claim to have the advantage of being "young" in politics any more.