The gangrape at Belmunda Pahari in Bariatu on Sunday night once again raised red flags all over the safety and security in the city. Despite doing all they can to prevent such incidents, covering secluded areas is not an easy task, claim senior police officials.
“It is not possible to cover every nook and corner of the city, given the limited manpower and resources we are working with,” stated Senior Superintendent of Police Prabhat Kumar.
Secluded areas in the city have developed as favourite haunts for couples in the city. But this distance from the eyes of others poses a grave threat for them if discovered by those with malicious intent
“The hills where the incident took place are not easy to scale, making it difficult for patrolling parties to thoroughly check the place to declare it completely safe. Even then, patrols are conducted regularly in the neighbourhood where these hills are located,” said City SP Jaya Roy.
Kumar also said, “Policemen patrol secluded parts of the city, areas with a higher probability of such crimes. But asking people to not visit such places in order to avoid untowardly incidents will attract charges of moral policing or trespassing on privacy. They also blame police for not doing its job when a grievous incident happens.”
A strict stance is taken after any cases of outraging a women’s modesty comes to light, he added, or during a time when gather in huge numbers.
“We have and we will depute security forces in the last week of December at tourist spots around the capital city. These are places not under our watch on a regular basis, like the Belmunda Pahari, but we still try to extend our reach to them as much as possible,” Kumar said.
“This gang-rape is not a failure of police but result of society’s decadence, which has come to pass over a long period of time. It will need some time to turn things around,” he said.