A young girl meets with a horrible death, but AAP and BJP are still fighting their petty wars
The national capital, indeed the entire nation, woke up in the new year to become painfully aware of the horrible death of Anjali Singh, a 20-year-old event manager. Investigations so far have shown that it was not a case of sexual assault and murder, but that is no relief to the parents of the unfortunate girl who was dragged for about 13 km by a car. Apparently, it’s a hit-and-run case. The five young men in the car, who are reported to be drunk, didn’t bother to find out the fate of the riders of the scooty they had hit. The Delhi Police have arrested and charged them with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash driving, and causing death by negligence. The ghastly accident has left behind several questions in its wake. The first is about the responsiveness of Delhi Police. It has been widely reported that cops took a lot of time to react. The Delhi Police have a lot of explaining to do. Anjali’s friend, Nidhi, who was at the scene, was not hurt by the accident. She must have seen that Anjali’s leg had got stuck in the car. She reportedly not just fled the scene but also didn’t inform anyone about the accident. That’s odd; surely it’s not a friendly reaction. Some of the eyewitnesses, who didn’t know the victim, did much more than Nidhi. Why did she behave the way she did? It is also worth pondering as to why some people believe that they can get away with hit-and-run incidents. Are they of the view that the long arm of the law can’t reach them? Where does their belief emanate from?
The police, the judicial system, and government have to strengthen the belief that however rich and powerful one may be, they are still not mightier than the law. This requires a steely resolve, considerable perseverance, and a great deal of effort on the part of those who matter. Unfortunately, what we see all around is unpleasant politicking and a blame game. The Delhi Government and the Aam Aadmi Party seem more interested in blaming the Lieutenant-Governor, whom the Delhi Police Commissioner reports to, and the Central Government than offering concrete solutions to make Delhi safer. Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, on their part, are accusing the AAP Government of not having installed enough cameras.
This is the pattern that is repeated in the aftermath of every high-visibility crime in the national capital, whether the Shradha Walkar murder or the Anjali Singh case. Unsurprisingly, the law and order situation doesn’t improve. In August, the National Crime Records Bureau’s report revealed that two minor girls were raped every day in 2021 in Delhi, earning it the dubious distinction of being the most unsafe metropolitan city for women in the country. In 2021, there were 13,892 cases of crimes against women. AAP and BJP leaders should work together to make the capital safer for people, especially women, instead of accusing each other all the time.
