At a time when there has been unrest and a lot of clashes between the police force and civilians across India, Chetan Singh Rathore, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru Central Division has set an example by talking to the group of people who gathered to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 and National Register of Citizens (NRC). A video of him talking to the people has gone viral since yesterday.
So, was the speech rehearsed? Chetan said that he wasn't prepared for this at all. "Usually, when the groups are lead by a particular leader, we try to talk to them and convey our message to the people through the leaders. This group which came to protest did not have a particular leader. It included college students, individuals who worked for different organisations and people belonging to the Muslim community. Each person had their own point of view and was not in sync with each other. They not only argued with us but they argued amongst each other. In such cases, it becomes difficult to convince them," said Chetan.
Instead of detaining or lathi charging them, Chetan took up a microphone in his hand and made them sit down. In the video, he can be seen telling them about mob mentality. "I told them how anyone in the group can have mischievous thoughts of provoking the police by throwing stones at them or even the group members. In such cases, we have to retaliate against the civilians which will lead to hurting each other. We would give the miscreants a chance to take benefit of this situation."
The highlight of his discussion though when he enthused the mob to spontaneously break into the Nation Anthem. "If you people trust me then I will sing a song and you people can also join me in the same," he spoke more like a youth leader than the IPS officers we are used to. The protestors joined gleefully and later cheered him for dealing with the situation wisely and peacefully.
