Penalize the mob

The rampage and destruction that followed the death of RajKumar, Kannada actor and icon, is as appalling as it is baffling.

Even more shameful is the way Javed’s friends and relatives stormed the hospital in Meerut.

Javed succumbed to severe burn injuries sustained when he saved about 7 lives in the Meerut fire tragedy last week. Angered at the refusal of the hospital authorities to let a crowd into the room where doctors were fighting to save Javed’s life and later the death of Javed, provoked the crowd to violence.

Who knows how many sick people the hospital turned away even as it struggled to come back to normal?

It is time the courts took steps to penalize the mobs. Pictures of people destroying public property should be published and these people should be punished. Severely. Punishing even a handful will ensure the mob is more careful the next time round.