By Akanksha Khurana:
16th December 2012 rings bells in our minds, doesn’t it? ‘The’ Delhi Gang Rape which is no more ‘The’ Delhi gang rape. It is exactly like all the other cases happening in Delhi almost every day. Page 4 of The Times of India is full of incidences happening every day. It is abominable to see what the capital city has turned into. More appropriately a “Monster” can be used to describe it!
The latest gang rape of a five-year-old girl did not seem to shock the public as much, but it did call out for protests. Again the cycle of closing down metro stations, protests, security systems began which will and have slowly faded into darkness until a new case arises. These stopgaps may seem apt at the time but there needs to be a permanent solution.
The problem remains with the Delhi Police also. Their venal nature can make them do unimaginable things. But will sacking them solve the problem? It surely won’t stop the rape cases from happening.
“If my resignation can prevent such crimes, I will resign. But my resignation will not address the problem. The problem is of mental sickness, least of police force” the police chief, Neeraj Kumar was heard saying. The policeman who bribed the victim’s parents has been suspended, which does not call for further punishment to the commissioner. Punish only the culprits and those who are to blame.
The police cannot make an effort to stop rape cases within homes and statistics prove that 97% of the rape cases have happened within home and only 3% percent with strangers since December 2012. It is the mentality which needs to be changed; it’s the thinking, the views which can make a difference.
One day a police commissioner getting sacked cannot prevent rape cases the next day. Is it humanly possible for a policeman to stop a neighbour who lures and rapes a girl? Rapes are opportunistic crimes committed within the confines of private spaces. The problem is of mental depravity and mental sickness which cannot be solved simply by sacking anyone.
How can we be assured that we will live in harmony if a new commissioner is appointed? If the appointment of a police commissioner is what it takes to stop the rape cases then be it, but obviously this is not the case especially in a country like India. Sacking the commissioner is just an excuse for any permanent solution which the government is unable to find.