Police, we know, is an effective instrument carrying main objective of prevention and detection of crime and is an important branch of administrative machinery of Government responsible for promotion of public health, safety, morals and cause law breakers to get suitable punishment. With that brief introduction , it hardly can be left to any conjectures as to what role should it play in handling a rape case – admittedly a heinous crime especially when committed on an innocent 7th class studying minor girl . It is hard to believe that the Police arrests the culprit after 6 years during which no one in the uniform heading the concerned Police Station mustered courage to arrest the main accused in the shocking act of a crime as horrifying as a rape.
While a sigh of small relief can be heaved now that the accused , who happens to be son of a former cabinet Minister in the then Congress-PDP coalition Government in the erstwhile state , has been arrested, at the same time investigation must pick up the speed. The matter does not end there but various questions arise which not only are required to be adequately answered but those conditions , restraints and humps need to be fairly enumerated which led the Domana Police take the horrible act of a minor’s rape too so lightly all these six years. We are proud of brave , courageous and law respecting police personnel but the entire force gets a bad name on account of some personnel who ”play ” with the law and fiddle with the structure of duties they have to perform without fear or favour.
Has political influence coupled with the element of corruption played the dirty role of keeping the innocent victim in a perpetual state of being denied justice all these six years? In spite of an FIR having been registered at Domana Police Station , Jammu in April 2015 under the relevant sections of the Ranbir Penal Code including 376 and Arms Act , still the accused was not touched all these years until June 5 when he was arrested from Sopore in Kashmir- is quite astonishing . At whose behest the law was not allowed to take its normal ordinary course ? Have all those Police Authorities who were complicit in jumping the requirements of law , investigation, charge sheet , prosecution and the like in this sensitive case, openly declared that perhaps the Department has two yardsticks for the accused – one, for those with political influence /money power who can get respite , relief and all concessions from the police in respect of not getting arrested and the police not taking the case to logical ends of prosecution stage in the court and -two, for those ordinary people with no influence must be treated as hardened criminals and shown no leniency (which should be the general case). In other words, no one is above law – the golden principle of the Rule of Law – can be interpreted by some Police Officers differently as per their whims and as a result of getting palms greased or influenced by political intervention and interference is quite unwarranted as being detrimental to the interests and rights of the citizens .
Many politicians treat Police as their fief , especially those who are turncoats and of doubtful integrity but what about those Police Officers who don the police uniform which brings with it responsibilities, service to the people and the nation, fearlessness in discharging duties and preventing and punishing the crime but are doing quite the opposite. Why all those SHOs, who were in charge of the said Police Station, not arrested the rape accused who allegedly got the girl kidnapped from a public transport vehicle while she was going home and taking her to a place only to be subjected to the ghastly crime . The whereabouts of the accused were adequately known to the police who mostly lived fearlessly with his father in his house during and after his cabinet Ministerial position while parents of the victim kept repeatedly knocking at the doors of Domana Police Station but bearing no fruits. We urge the authorities to institute an enquiry in the entire episode and bring to book all those Police Officers who were complicit in letting the case go shockingly and pathetically so slow to benefit the culprit while it hardly needs to reiterate with which speed , now, the case/ investigation should proceed.
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