Denial of Our Right to Freedom

A girl died in Singapore due to multi-organ failure. She was the victim of a series of crimes, all of which so vicious in nature that awarding them the capital punishment won’t be enough. But our so called just Indian democratic system will make sure that they are given a free and fair trial. I ask were those extremely sinister crimes free and fair in nature? The answer will be a unanimous NO! She was subject to rape followed by extreme torture, and what is most shocking is the fact that the perpetrators found their criminal acts rather amusing.

Remorse is something which was probably not in the dictionary of those six individuals even minutes before they were apprehended. One of them is claiming that he’s a juvenile! I mean, it was fun for him, since others found it really pleasing; he simply followed them. Either way, all six of them are criminals and should be treated equally – no mercy! Under the Section 302 and 304 of the Indian Penal Code, it is totally understandable that these accused will be charged with murder and rape, and they will be given the capital punishment – and given hindsight (Kasab’s case) – they will serve a few years in prison, then they will apply for a President’s mercy plea. So slow is our very own Indian judiciary.

Many people are claiming that the bus did not have a proper registration. Moreover, the curtains were down. Both these issues, not criminal in nature but definitely unlawful, should have been addressed by Delhi Police. The bus driver, in an audacious act, drove it through several high-profile areas of New Delhi, where security is of paramount importance – Police staffs were everywhere but they did not bother to stop the bus and ask for producing proper papers. Such lax is the Police of our country!

The so called modern-day mutineers – Arvind Kejriwal, Baba Ramdev, Anna Hazare, etc. – are nowhere to be seen. Why all of a sudden they are so quiet? Aren’t safety and security necessary apart from complete cessation of corruption? And yes, Her Majesty, Sonia Gandhi did not tell the PM to take a bold step. But the funny part (yeah, you read it right!) is Dr. Manmohan Singh has really spoken something - he is not going to celebrate New Year and condole on this tragedy. Had he been so moved by the death of this brave girl, he would have called an all-party meeting to discuss on this issue. But he did not!

I do not know her real name. Some are calling her Damini and some Nirbhaya. She is with God now and perhaps she developed too much hatred for these six sickoes and for the other people like them. M.K. Gandhi once said many decades back – “The day the women will be free to roam around in the streets even in the dead of the night, only then our country truly become independent.”

Even at the end of everything, the question will still remain – who is to be blamed? I wish we were really free.

[Photo courtesy: Times of India, New York Times]