Mob Attacks Muslim Boy In Uttarakhand, Sikh Police Officer Puts Own Life In Line To Save Him

I often feel perplexed when I think of India and our diverse population. There is possibly no other country in the world with such an assortment of religions, cultures, languages and traditions as us. Remember how when growing up, we used to proudly praise our diversity in every essay about India? Unfortunately, we can’t invoke that pride without a slight hesitation now, can we?

News of clashes between religions and communities reach us increasingly these days. The general climate has become one of mistrust among the citizens who once used to live in harmony. At a time like this, instances of solidarity among the people irrespective of caste, colour and religion give us much hope.

And this is one such instance. A Sikh police officer in Uttarakhand saved a Muslim boy from a possible lynch mob this week.

According to NDTV, the police officer Gagandeep Singh, reached a prominent temple in Ramnagar, in response to alerts about trouble in the area. A group was attacking a Muslim boy who was seen with his Hindu girlfriend.

Upon arrival, Gagandeep tries to keep the Muslim boy close, away from any harm. As the angry crowd tries to beat the boy, the brave police officer uses his body to shield him. Watch the video here:

This brave #Sikh police officer saved a #Muslim boy from the fanatic #Hindu mob, who was trying to lynch him. Because he was there to meet his #Hindu girlfriend. How can someone deny the fact that these extremist Hindu groups are trying to terrorise the minorities? pic.twitter.com/htN9pHVZwA

— Simranjit Singh Mann (@SimranjitSADA) May 24, 2018

Evidently, the crowd was that of a bunch of moral police, who did not approve of the inter-faith relationship.

In the video, you can see Gagandeep hugging the Muslim boy tightly to save him from being attacked, even as the crowd criticises him for it. One man can be heard saying:

“Pyaar aa raha hai bohot aapko, kis baat ka pyaar kar rahe ho?”

As Gagandeep escorts the boy away from the crowd, they start yelling angry slogans like “Police prashasan murdabad“.

The video has been shared widely on social media and the Sikh police officer is being praised for his actions:

1. Salute!

Salute to this sikh police officer, no one else dare to come and defend the boy.

— ARSHJOT (@Jr_sardaar) May 25, 2018

2. Going above and beyond his call of duty.

https://twitter.com/akdwaaz/status/999687129797050370

3. Bravo indeed.

Bravo!! Sikh cop confronted a whole Hindutva swarm to save a Muslim from being lynched. https://t.co/HqYnSkHPeG

— Aflatoon Wazir (Gobhi Parantha) (@sanamwazir) May 24, 2018

4. Faith in humanity restored.

It was heartening to see on Youtube the videos of a brave young Sikh police officer, Gagandeep Singh, saving the life of a Muslim youth who may have been lynched by a frenzied Hindutva mob had it not been for the courageous intervention of Gagandeep.

— Markandey Katju (@mkatju) May 25, 2018

5. Singh is king!

Bravo sikh…
Real hero.. Real Super Singh…
Respect… 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

— Rajesh (@iasliraj) May 25, 2018

Incidents like this give me a taste of the same pride I felt in school while confidently describing our diversity. What was once a defining characteristic for us, has unfortunately become a sign of our undoing. If we do not take care to look beyond the restrictions placed by castes and religions we may soon succumb into darkness. Gagandeep is a beacon of hope for those who still care for their fellow countrymen irrespective of all else. Kudos to you Gagandeep.