Wisdom is in leaving law enforcement to the cops

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A group of people in Siddharthanagar (UP), allegedly rubbed chilli powder in two boys private parts, gave them petrol injections and forced them to drink urine suspecting them of theft.

If this were not shocking enough, the more unfortunate part is that it is a part of the larger picture, where individuals are taking the law into their own hands to mete out justice. They want to punish the alleged wrongdoers, rather than waiting for the law to do so.

From beating up kids who may have stolen biscuits or sweets, to humiliating and assaulting adults for transgressions, there is a pattern to this.

We may have witnessed or read about a crowd beating up minors to teach them a lesson. At times, adults who may have been accused of trying to steal, etc., are dragged out on the road, faces blackened, beaten with shoes. This is done by crowds of people who believe they need to dispense justice either to demonstrate power, or send a lesson to people that this will not be tolerated.

We cannot be going around trying to correct these wrongs in this way. It is not the ordinary person's job to do so. If there is some wrongdoing, there is the police as recourse. In this way, we are getting embroiled in something dangerous besides it being illegal and can spin dangerously out of control and there is a very real possibility of a riot or an unmanageable confrontation. You cannot take the law into your hands and bring about anarchy in this way, however sterling these motives.

In this way, these so-called illegal law upholders are breaking the law and committing a crime themselves while trying to right the wrongs. Use correct channels and seek the legal way to address and redress this.