Meanwhile, Delhi Police is not with you, always
The horrific rape and torture of a five-year-old over a period of 40 hours in a Delhi suburb has proven that nothing has changed in the four months that the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old in a Delhi bus shook the entire country and goaded Parliament into action. In fact, the manner in which this latest incident is unravelling itself is eerily similar to how the December 16 case played out. From the depravity of the human mind that has been put on naked display, to the candle-light vigil outside the hospital where the victim was admitted, to the recycled expressions of shock and condemnation issued by politicians and finally, to the gross insensitivity of a police force that simply did not care — by now, this country has already seen it, heard it and read it all. Yet, it was the callousness of the police that has rankled, and indeed enraged, the people the most. In the aftermath of the December 16 incident that saw law enforcement agencies come under scathing criticism for their inept handling of the case, the least that had been expected was a police force that had become more responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable of those it is duty-bound to protect — that is, women and children. Yet, as the case of this five-year-old rape victim shows, the rot runs so deep that even this little is too much to expect.
And so it was, that when the victim's father first sought to lodge a complaint against his missing daughter, he was summarily dismissed. When police personnel finally took the trouble to search for the girl, they put in such a half-hearted effort that they could not find her, even though she was being held in the same building that she lived. Had only the police cared to look more closely, perhaps the girl could have been saved the torture. And, as if that wasn't all, when she was finally found, the police still could not be bothered to take up her case in earnestness. Instead, they advised her father to be thankful that she wasn't already dead. As if this was not appalling enough, when the father refused to budge, the police reportedly offered a bribe to shake him off. At this point, it is almost unimaginable that things could get any worse — but they do. A woman protester demanding stringent action gets slapped by a senior Delhi Police officer in full view of television cameras, and those protesting in front of the Delhi Police headquarters on Saturday faced water cannons.
Of course, in the days since this case has made headlines, a suspect has been nabbed, errant police officials suspended and inquiries initiated. But let's be clear — none of this is enough to get the police off the hook. In the first instance, hunting down a poor, migrant worker is not exactly the high-point in detective work. Second, suspensions of officials, unless they lead to termination of service, are merely a charade that the authorities put up to soothe frayed nerves. Only when the guilty policemen are stripped of their badge and uniform and incarcerated, will a strong message go out to the rest of the force. Ultimately, of course, for justice to be done, it is imperative that this case be treated as one that falls in the ‘rarest of rare’ category and the degenerate that violated a child in this manner be served the death sentence.