'Islam Zindabad': After skull cap row, Surat cops make 'terrorists' shout pro-Islamic slogan

Gujarat: A video of police mock drill showing dummy militants shouting pro-Islamic slogan emerged on Thursday in Gujarat, a day after controversy erupted over men, playing the part of terrorists, being made to wear skullcaps in a similar exercise in Surat. Reacting to the Surat episode that came to light yesterday, Chief Minister Anandi Patel admitted it as a “mistake” to show people posing as terrorists in the drill in skullcaps. The Surat Rural Police have created a storm of controversy, after a simulated anti-terrorism drill saw the force getting their decoy terrorists to wear skullcaps, indicating a bias against a particular community. According to an Ibnlive report, two civilians posing as terrorists and wearing skull caps, were arrested by the police as part of the drill. [caption id=“attachment_2026565” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] TV screen grab[/caption] The latest video is of another anti-terror mock drill at Narmada dam site in Kevadia area of Narmada district. It shows policemen holding two dummy terrorists who were shouting “take our lives, if you want. Islam Zindabad (long live Islam)”. When contacted by PTI, Narmada Superintendent of Police Jaypalsinh Rathore said an inquiry will be conducted into the issue. “I came to know about this incident (of projecting terrorists as Muslims) through media. If such an incident has happened, we will conduct an inquiry and take necessary actions against those responsible,” he said. “The mock drill was a routine police exercise which was conducted a week ago in Kevadia area,” Rathore added. Another justification by the police was that the decoy terrorist’s costume was merely a reflection of the attire of a majority of the people living in the area. However, the political class wasn’t very impressed with the explanation, with both the BJP, which is in power in the state, and the Congress criticising the incident. “Terrorists do not come wearing skull caps. And it is absolutely wrong to stereotype a community in this manner,” Mehboobali Bawa, the BJP Minority Cell President in Gujarat told CNN-IBN. As the Surat episode generated controversy and invited criticism from several quarters, including from the chief of Gujarat BJP Minority Cell, Patel told a TV channel it is wrong to link religion with terrorism. “It’s wrong to link religion with terrorism. The issue has been resolved and the matter should be put to rest now. The mistake has been rectified,” she said. The anti-terror drills were conducted ahead of the two high-profile events being held in the state - Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (January 7 to 9) and Vibrant Gujarat Investors Summit (January 11 to 13) - both in Gandhinagar. While the Surat Rural Police may believe the incident was merely a avoidable error, it is the reinforcement of a stereotype that does little to improve policing and only feeds the discontent against the Indian state that terror groups feed on. With inputs from PTI