An internal order of the Katni police in Madhya Pradesh, clubbing Sikhs and Muslims with terrorist organisations to be kept under watch during a VVIP visit, caused a furore, with the Congress demanding action against the district police chief.
The internal order, issued on Monday, was regarding the duty chart for the Katni visit of MP Governor Mangubhai Patel on Tuesday. The general instruction 6 of the said letter read in Hindi “Strict eye should be kept on Sikh, Muslim, JKLF, ULFA, SIMI, LTTE terrorists.”
The letter came to light on Wednesday, leading to a controversy. Speaking to THE WEEK, Superintendent of Police Sunil Jain said the clubbing was a result of clerical error and expressed regret. “Show cause notice has been served to the clerk in question and strict disciplinary action will be initiated. I express regret for the error and want to emphasise that we have nothing against any community and there was no intention of hurting any sentiments. Katni police are there to serve all,” Jain said.
He said the order was an internal document and the intention was to direct police personnel to keep watch on terrorist organisations and elements during the VVIP visit.
The Congress, however, demanded action against the SP in the matter. Party spokesman Narendra Saluja tweeted, “Have Sikhs been put in the category of terrorists by the Shivraj government? The attitude of the state police for a patriot community is very saddening. Government should take action against the Katni SP or it would be surmised that the BJP government also has a similar mindset.”
Another spokeperson, K.K. Mishra, said “The SP is using insulting language of putting Sikha and Muslims in terrorist category in a letter on security detail of the governor. Meanwhile, the governor attended a programme by a group of institutions that is facing income tax raids in Indore and Bhopal. What kind of administration and intelligence setup is this?”