The man whose iconic appearance and actions turned his name into an adjective, who spawned video games, was offered movie roles and became a minor celebrity on the internet, finally landed where he belonged: behind bars. Gullu Butt, who was caught on tape smashing cars with a baton while the police watched the show, has been sentenced by an Anti Terrorism Court on Thursday to eleven years and three months in jail on vandalism charges in Model Town. While he claims he will appeal the decision, the superior courts will probably uphold the verdict. The evidence couldn’t have been clearer. The hired goon who obviously has years of practice behind him, later put on a ridiculous show; claiming to be a pacifist, handlebar moustache intact, and carrying rosary beads around. The incarceration of Gullu Butt, who had become a symbol for all that is brutish and oppressive about the government, will satisfy many people. Yet the fact remains that this isn’t enough.
If the video of Gullu Butt smashing cars is admissible evidence in a court of law, what is to become of the two dozen policemen in the background, calmly watching the spectacle unfold? If the actions of Gullu Butt are a crime, the actions of the men who invited him there, directed him, encouraged him, and congratulated him are surely a crime too. If vandalising cars earns you 11 years in prison, then killing 14 civilians must earn a lot more. Where are these trials, these investigations? Who will hold accountable the department which orchestrated the whole incident, and for that fact alone is much more culpable than Gullu is? Even if the police are not responsible for the death of the 14 individuals, Gullu Butt’s verdict automatically implies that the policemen who merrily stood watching are guilty of ‘aiding and abetting’ and ‘gross negligence’ at the least.
As despicable as Gullu Butt is, it seems he is being made the scapegoat to save the Punjab government’s hides. Shahbaz Shariff has still not released the contents of the Lahore High Court Tribunal’s investigation report. No one in the police department has been indicted. After intense political pressure, a case was registered against the Chief Minister, yet following Tahir-ul-Qadri’s departure that pressure is steadily decreasing. The courts should not let that interfere with the course of justice; here is an opportunity to bring a wayward police under the rule of law. The government may have pulled off an escape from the sit-ins, but it should not be allowed to escape unscathed from this.