Story By : Vimal Sumbly

There has been so much hue and cry over the killing of gangster Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf while they were being taken to hospital for a check up in Prayagraj. The killing was caught live on camera. Two days before, Atiq’s son, Asad was killed in an encounter with police along with an accomplice. No killing should be celebrated, even if it is that of a gangster who is accused of having himself killed or ordered killing of more than 100 people and getting away with almost all of them. But, still the rule of law must prevail. After all, this country is governed and guided by a constitution. The punishment for any crime should be delivered by the judiciary and not by anyone else even if the person concerned would himself deliver and execute “summary trials”.

The outrage against the killing is genuine. But why only selective outrage? Atiq and his brother were not the first ones to get killed like that. There were many other gangsters who got killed in police encounters. Vikas Dubey, another dreaded gangster was also killed in an encounter only last year. But nobody voiced even a token protest. Just because Atiq Ahmad belonged to a particular community, some leaders of particular political parties known for rabid appeasement started beating their breasts about his (Atiq’s) killing thus making their intentions too clear. They apparently tried to suggest that Atiq got killed not as a consequence of his crimes, but just because his “name was Atiq”, an imagined victimhood, being propagated and perpetrated for a long time now in the country. 

Read the full story here:- https://expressindianews.com/Opinion/2902/Rule-of-law-can___t-exit-without-fear-of-law.html