The failure of the police to execute patrolling, community policing and other effective tools of policing have been exposed once again by the rape cum murder of the seven- year- old girl in Haldwani recently. As regards the Pherupur (Haridwar) rape cum murder case involving a 12- year –old girl last year, State police are still clueless about the identity of the accused.
In the Haldwani incident, though the state police have released the sketch of the accused, police are yet to identify the accused.These two ghastly rape cum murder incidents in Haldwani and Haridwar have exposed that the state police’s claim of providing security to the minors, in particular, and the women, in general, rings hollow.
Observers opined that once such crimes happen senior police officers talk about initiating measures like intensifying police patrolling and implementing community policing and developing sources among others. But when it comes to implement them on ground things get stuck. With violence against minor girls and women spiraling across the State, police seem to have made it a habit of promising the residents about ensuring their security.
But these prove mere sweet-sounding platitudes, shorn of the will to enforce them on the ground.They further said that the minors are vulnerable and soft targets of the miscreants. Due to police ineffectiveness, criminals flee and remain scot free after committing crimes.
These two incidents have made the people insecure. The parents are scared and thus are choosing to keep their wards indoors.In Haridwar incident, around a year has passed since the 12- year- old girl was raped and murdered by unidentified persons in a sugarcane field, near Bhatta Colony under Pathri Police Station when she had gone to respond to nature’s call in the open on January 7.
The parents of the victim along with members of some social organisations and leaders of various local political parties had earlier staged stirs.However, the case seems to be vegetating with the accused remaining elusive. Moreover, though the State Government had handed over this case to CBI the central investigative agency declined to accept it.