Police, Rape and Government

The Aam Aadmi Party government led by their Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, had gone on dharna for two days in Delhi to bring the police under the control of the State government as the police was not obeying the instructions of AAP ministers.

It has created quite a din with the Congress, the BJP and the media which supports either of these parties on one side and AAP on the other side.

A commission of enquiry has been set up to pin-point who was at fault, the AAP minister or the police which is under the central government.

However, while the commission is working it is worth pondering whether having the police under the state will bring the number of rapes down.

In West Bengal, we have the police very much under the state government rather too much under the state government. They are not allowed to do any work until they receive clearance from the government.

Rapists from the ruling party, TMC, roam about freely even after an FIR is lodged and threaten the victim and her family to withdraw the FIR or else disfigure her permanently with acid, murder family members or even rape the victim a second time.

So you see, having the police under the state government does not help unless the police is allowed to work. If the police is shackled with instructions on whom they should and whom they should not arrest, no police force can contain crime of any kind, leave alone rape.

So the question is not who should control the police but why should not the police work independently, honestly, efficiently?

This is what the media, the Congress, BJP and other people who are shouting hoarse are not realizing.

Somnath Bharati and Rakhi Birlan had to interfere as they did because the police were not doing their work.

It is not that these two went to the places without first informing the police.

It was only, when the police was not taking appropriate action, that they had to interfere.

Remember, a few months back, the police did not lodge an FIR of a woman who had been raped until the AAP volunteers forced the police to do so. Many AAP volunteers were even injured in that episode. But at that time there was no reaction from the media or anyone else because at that time AAP was considered a "monsoon insect".

The Delhi elections proved the media all wrong in their forecasts and they were festering under that wound and were looking for an opportunity to hit back.

AAP had said in the electioneering stages that they would not sit quietly if the police did not act to contain crime and especially crimes against women.

This was the first test case. In one case, a woman was being burnt by her in-laws and in another case locals had complained of a drugs and prostitution racket in their locality. In both cases, the respective ministers had first contacted the respective SHOs to act. It was only when the police failed to act that these ministers took it upon themselves to visit those areas. If the police had acted when the complaint came, they need not have gone there. But as is their practise, the police probably because they were receiving a cut from the drug business and the in-laws had bribed them, the police took their own time. Further, when women are involved in the drugs and prostitution racket, why didn't the police take lady constables along with them.

It makes no difference under whom the police is, whether State or Central government.

The police are to act even from a complaint of a common man.

Why should the minister have to interfere?

This is what AAP wants to instil in the minds of all the government staff.

The system should move by itself, without any push from ministers.

Why doesn't the media realize this?

Intentionally and knowingly they have allowed themselves to be misled by the BJP/Congress propaganda who are just interested in continuing the status quo so that they can continue to loot the people.

When the British came to India, it was the richest country in the world but continuous loot by the Afghans, Mughals, British, French, Dutch and now by our own politicians and bureaucrats has made India a Pauper.

Arvind is trying to reverse that but he is fighting against a system which controls the wealth, power and media of the nation and who would not like to loosen their hegemony of the system.