Hoping for the Hopeless
The spontaneous upsurge of the angry and anguished people following brutalities perpetuated on the hapless girl and her male friend in the moving bus on December 16 has brought into focus rising rate of crimes against women and inadequacy of the Government apparatus to curb and control the commission of such ghastly crimes in the Capital of India which should have been the role model for the entire country . Though this case has become the watershed moment in the history of crime and punishment in so far as it has served to be a catalyst for over hauling crime control mechanism in Delhi with “major changes being put in place’, it is rightly observed by Delhi Commissioner of Police of Delhi , Neeraj Kumar in his press conference on 18th of January 2013 that “ …..This case has the power , strength and propulsion to bring about major changes in the way offences against women are dealt with by police , prosecution , courts and even medical teams.”
There should not be any disagreement on it and also on his comment in the foreword to the annual report where he has stated , “…….It is not uncommon for citizens to target us in such situations as we are the visible arm of the government . But somewhere the anger was directed not only on us ,but, perhaps, against the criminal justice system as a whole and the inability of common people to correct it quickly.”
But , when he talked about the changed attitude of the ‘police and other agencies towards crime against women’ it sounded a little too tall a claim. It is not only difficult to change the attitude of whosoever , much less of the power wielding force like police , it is almost impossible to achieve this wonderful feat in such a short span. And this is the only thing most desirable in the present context.
Nevertheless, it is heartening to see that serious efforts are being made towards changing the attitude of the police and other law enforcing agencies along with hundreds of other speaking measures to control crime against women. Why women alone? Every one of the law abiding citizens of this country is entitled to safety of ones life and property and to live in peace without threats of any kind. But that seems utopia in the present phase of our national life since the only hope to achieve success on this score lies in the ‘Attitude’ of the police personnel who need to fight it out with the rare display of capabilities like intelligence, untiring zeal and , above all the conviction which is possessed more as an exception than as a rule.
It is indeed true that there is a complete chain to follow in case of commission of a crime which broadly includes bringing the culprits to book through investigations with admissible evidence, preparation of loophole free case for prosecution and then prosecution in the court .
It is thus the police which is there on the scene from the stage of commission of an offence / crime till the final judgment by the court of jurisdiction It is there at the place of the commission of a crime and then finally at the flours of the courtrooms to take the case to its logical end. And that is why the investigating police personnel assume an unique position in the administration of justice . If they are serious as against being casual as a matter of routine, and upright as against given to petty temptations , every body around him , from witnesses to medical teams and to the courts, will automatically fall in line.
But this is hoping against the hope ,for, in the general realm of falling standards of ethics and character, it is too much to expect that a chunk will remain untouched by the impact of expanding tentacles of corruption and lethargy in the country. When the whole cake is rotting there cannot be a part of it which can remain unaffected by contamination. After all policemen are not from outside the country.They are as much an Indian as we are, sharing all that is good and bad in us. And so, let us first stop ourselves from falling low as a nation and all else, including police , will automatically fall in line .
