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| Special courts and police teams needed for tackling social and economic crimes | | | Right from
1990 on
wards, after the rise of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, the incidents of social, political and economic offences in the troubled state have multiplied. Imagine after finding all her family members killed by militants a girl ended her life when she could not face the ignominy of being gangraped by militants in Rajouri, exactly five years ago. Since then Poonch and Rajouri, besides various belts in Doda, Kishtwar and Udhampur districts, have been witnessing series of rapes, extortion by not only militants but even by Government officials. The recent rape incident by Government employees in Rajouri deserves deep condemnation. No doubt militants showed the way to extortion of women, people, supposed to be civilised, have fallen prey to the lure of sex. Does it mean it is a symbol of frustration which the criminals want to rationalise through extortion, molestation and rape of innocent and helpless women. If there is delay in investigation and penalty to the rapists or those found guilty of having committed rape find encouragement for indulging in such heinous acts. Similarly economic offenders in the shape of looting the forest wealth and in grabbing the forest land have, over the years, wrecked havoc on the green gold in the state. The number of such offenders keeps on increasing because there is no procedure available under which these offenders could be heavily punished. And it is the result of lax rules, lack of special investigating agencies and special courts for dispensing justice. There are other offences including profiteering, hoarding, fleecing of consumers and customers but there is no special arrangement for awarding penalty. Since India, including the state of Jammu and Kashmir has true democratic traditions and prectices one cannot imagine a rapist or a profiteer awarded death sentence by peoples' court or by some relgious authority. One would have expected head of various religious missions and temples to enforce strict penalty for those found involved in social offences including rapes, extortion and abduction. One would have expected the godmen, who move about in saffron robes, to punish those found guilty ovar henious social offences. It has not happened because a number of godmen have been found involved in sleaze and rapes. Even senior bureaucrats, politicians and police officials have not been able to rectify these evils because they too have been found involved in rapes, land grab and profiteering. The two- year old Srinagar sex scam is a case to be noted. What is then the solution ? The Government should set up special courts, special police investigating teams and separate teams of public prosecutors so that the guilty are awarded instant punishment. During the last 20 years courts are over burdened with civil cases. Police agencies are busy in tackling militancy and the lesser number of public prosecutors have no time to prepare a full-proof cases against the economic and social criminals with the result most of them get off without any punishment. If the Government sets up fast-track courts and separate police teams which will investigate only into the economic and social offences the situation can improve. If it is not done it will worsen throwing hapless women to vulters. It can lead to multiplication of cases pertaining to land grab and profiteering. Hence it is the Government that can ensure some sort of discipline and freedom from the rapists and profiteers. It is for the Government to move fast failing which the number of human wolves will increase. |
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