The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has ordered the Maharashtra Police not to conduct mock drills depicting persons of a particular community as terrorists.
The bench of justice MS Patil and Justice SG Chapalgaonkar has also directed the public prosecutor DR Kale to apprise the court about the guidelines for holding mock drills.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by social activist Sayed Usama who claimed that the police department’s mock exercises showed clothing and slogans that suggested the terrorists were Muslims.
According to the PIL, a mock drill held on the eve of Makar Sankranti in Ahmednagar city featured a cop dressed as a terrorist in an outfit most prominently worn by Muslim men. Later, when he was “apprehended,” and was seen shouting “Nara-e-Takbeer, Allah-u-Akbar,” implying that the terrorist was Muslim.
The petition also mentioned another incident that occurred on January 11 during a mock drill at the Mahakali temple in Chandrapur.
“The petitioner, a social activist who appears to be Muslim, has raised a public-interest issue. “He objects to the police department conducting mock drills depicting attire and slogan shouting as if to indicate that the terrorist is a Muslim,” the court stated. While convicting the case for further hearing on February 10, the High Court stated, “Until the next date, no mock drills shall be conducted depicting persons of a particular community as terrorists.”
The High Court, while posting the matter for further hearing on February 10, said, “Till the next date, no mock drills shall be conducted depicting persons of a particular community as terrorists.”
