Hyderabad encounter: Shall we now accept that police are also a part of mobocracy?

A young woman is raped and burnt to death. There is outrage on social media. A Member of Parliament openly says in Parliament that the rapists should be ‘lynched’. And lo and behold, after about three days of these words of wisdom from the parliamentarian, the Telangana Police kill all the accused in an encounter in the wee hours, saying that the accused were trying to flee! Now please pay attention - these are the same police who had refused to file an FIR when the parents of the rape victim had requested them to, arguing that their girl must have eloped with someone!

And thus justice was done. People became happy, cheered the police, distributed sweets, burnt crackers and even parliamentarians started ‘congratulating’ the cops. One of the respected MPs even said ‘better late than never’! Did all these celebrating cheering people pause for a moment to think that this act by the police only shows that the police themselves have no faith in the system of law and order? Thus meaning that there is only one solution left for everything - shoot to death and justice will be done. If it’s that easy then why do so many people study law, why were such a long Constitution and a penal code chalked out? Should we burn them?

Where have we reached now? Is this the maturity of our democracy we were so looking forward to? That to stop any heinous crime, whatever the crowd says, the watchdogs of law and order accept and follow. No courts, no trials, no arguments, just the bullets and justice served? Isn’t it like the ancient criminal code that whosoever is in power can convict anyone and sends them to gallows, guillotine or to be stoned to death or to be crucified? Why are people so happy on social media? Who are those people celebrating, distributing sweets or firing crackers on the death of the accused? Aren’t those 80 lakh cruel, sadist Indians among them who were looking for the rape video on porn sites after the rape and murder of the Hyderabad doctor?

Now some legal questions. Was it proven that all those four accused were actually the rapists? Did any trial take place? Did anyone try to argue in defence of the accused? Isn’t that what happens in a democracy? Unless it is not proven in a court of law that you are guilty, aren’t you considered innocent? God knows how many political leaders are occupying seats of power on the basis of this law. Then how can Telangana Police dare to shoot those four accused to death without any trial? Shall we now accept that even the police have become an active participant in the mobocracy that is ruling the country?

This is an illusion that we are living in a democracy — repeated occurrence of such brutal incidents is enough evidence. I am a woman. I am a human being too. I have been brought up with democratic values where everyone has a right to say and argue in his/her favour. As a woman, I will very much like that all those people should be killed who were looking for the rape video on porn sites after this barbaric rape. If you have to indulge in this kind of cleansing, then please do. But then throw away the hollow mask of democracy. Admit it openly that you are fascist, anarchists, consider yourself right and you have the right to punish or not punish anyone.

But as a human being, I want that the judiciary should take the required steps as soon as possible and the convicts should be given the strictest possible punishment. If the court had sentenced them to death as soon as possible, it would have been a real relief. ‘AS SOON AS POSSIBLE’ here is very important and relevant. Our judicial system has become so poor and weak that the police themselves do not trust it. A small trial takes years to conclude. Many innocent under-trials keep rotting with hardened criminals in jails for years.

Shouldn’t a country where an MP talks about the rights of monkeys, talk about the rights of the accused and even criminals and prisoners? Do people, who are happy with this cowardly act of the police, hope that this will in any way bring the number of rapes in our country down? Or is it just a thoughtless blood lust which was pacified a little by the police? This new mentality of ours just stuns me. Can we free society of the crime by killing its perpetrator? When Mahatma Gandhi said ‘Kill the sin not the sinner’, it had a deep democratic thought behind it.

But we are doing the exact opposite. People who are happy with this act of the police are in a way instigating mob mentality which is turning us into a frenetic, regressive tribe than a wise progressive society. People who are happy should remember that this mob can any day enter our houses and kill us.

I am sad that people are happy.