Writing on "The new pattern of urban terror", ex-IPS officer, Anil Chowdhry expresses regret at the respect offered to the police in the US compared to the way our police are treated in India. After the shooting at a Las Vegas hotel, that killed 58 people and wounded 489, President Trump thanked the Las Vegas Police for their "miraculous response" and praised their "exemplary professionalism". The people and the media did not spread rumors and, "There was no politicking, blame game or mudslinging." Recently, there has been some dispute about the timeline of events between police and the hotel from where the shooting happened. After the terrorist attacks on Mumbai on 26 November, 2008 "The blame game on intelligence and police failure went on and on." Perhaps, the biggest difference between the US and India is that mass shootings are commonplace in the US, so that the police, hospitals and the media have become experts in their response, whereas they are rare in India, probably because our police are quietly keeping us safe. After Indian soldiers carried out a 'surgical strike' within Pakistani territory in Kashmir in September last year politicians, who had never served a day in the armed forces, were going around thumping their 56 inch chests. Now the major who led the attack has written a book on how difficult it was to get his men back safely. In August, police had to fire 1,000 rounds to control rioting mobs after the controversial guru, Baba Ram Rahim was found guilty of rape by a CBI court. The point is not that there was a riot, everyone anticipated one, the point is why the people were allowed to congregate and why buses and local trains were not suspended for the day to prevent people from coming. Turns out that politicians of all shades sought the support of Ram Rahim, to win elections. Writing against 'encounters', wherein criminals are shot dead, Indian police need to be reformed, wrote D Prasad. Why do police eliminate criminals instead of trying to capture them? Our police are treated with gross disrespect and not provided with the most basic necessities for human existence, even as they sacrifice their lives to fight Maoist terrorists. If they do catch criminals what's the use? The courts will only set them free. Yesterday, the Allahabad High Court threw out the verdict of a CBI court on the murder of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj. The Court insulted the CBI judge saying that he had acted as a "math teacher" and "film director". Another, High Court, this time in Gujarat, overturned the death sentences of 11 men who cold bloodedly set fire to a train, killing 59 Hindu pilgrims. If the lower court judges are so incompetent why are they not being sacked? Meanwhile, the dead cry out for justice. Since the police are on the front-line they get blamed.
No comments:
Post a Comment