Lynching is not just murder. Mobs are not always an unruly, group of people with criminal intent. This is how we have come to roughly understand the terms and but they are not completely accurate.
Our govt, courts and the whole legal system has a massive loophole when it comes to the biggest crimes. Once the number of killers is exceeds 4-5, the point till which they are called a gang, the law suddenly faints, falls down on the ground and starts frothing at the mouth.
Justice has eluded victims of riots, caste violence, panchayats or even so called flash mobs that kill thieves etc. Not a soul was punished in the jat violence that raped and killed. So, it’s not surprising that many see the recent Gullberg Society ruling sounds like delayed justice. It is not. If there were criminal jokes like toilet jokes, this would rank at the very top. The ruling denies that there was any criminal conspiracy, meaning there was no intent to kill when the mob gathered.
Hundreds gathered waiting for a bus, or may be share whatsapp jokes, or read movie reviews and horoscope from a single newspaper and someone shouted let’s kill a few muslims and just at that moment they picked up weapons that grew on the trees nearby and went to murder, rape and burn and kill a whole housing society.
The courts in our country are understaffed, the judges are overworked. So, the poor judges must not have slept well. Or, as I know some who suddenly went from below poverty line citizens to being golf aficionados, just lost interest while waiting for their weekend spas.
