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| Alarming is criminal-politician nexus | | Delhi beats Bihar in incidents of kidnapping | | B L KAK
NEW DELHI, NOV. 29
It is official: Crime of kidnapping has acquired alarming proportions in recent times in several places in the country. And Delhi, the national capital, has also had its substantial share in this crime. Neighbouring Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad are fast catching up with Delhi.
If the available national crime survey were any guide, Delhi has beaten Bihar in incidents of kidnapping and crime against women, particularly rape. Joginder Singh,a former Director of the CBI, is quite on the mark when he points out that one reason why Delhi reports a higher crime rate is that since it is the national capital with an active presence of the media, it is difficult for the police to cover up the cases, which is possible in States that do not have an inquisitive media.
Joginder Singh has come out with a set of findings. Finding number one: Anybody who is well-off is a potential victim of kidnapping especially in kidnap-prone regions. Finding number two: Kidnappers invariably threaten the victims' families with dire consequences if they go to the authorities. Kidnappers prey on anybody they can. The motive behind all kidnappings is to extract he maximum ransom and otherwise the kidnapped would face certain death.
Joginder Singh's finding number three: Kidnappiong seems to have become a career option for some to make easy money. The richer the victim, the chances of extorting a fortune go up. Joginder Singh, in his latest write-up, has emphasized: "We as a nation cannot allow this state of afairs to continue, as this not only gives a bad name to the country, but also keeps crime affected States way behind in terms of development".
Former CBI's emphasis is the product of many disturbing developments in some States, particularly Bihar and Utar Pradesh. He says that between 1992 and 2001, for which figures are available, the Bihar police recorded 24,338 cases of kidnapping in the State. "Of course, some officals unofficially admit that he real figure might be 10 times higher", Joginder Singh has revealed.
His write-up has yet another revelation: One Bihar Assembly member estimated that about 40 of his colleagues in the last Assembly ran kidnapping syndicates. The police has not contradicted this estimate, and in fact unofficially feels that he numbers are much higher.
Joginder Singh has also made a pointed reference to the disturbing scenario in UP, where out of 403 members in the State Assembly, 207 have had a police record, or have had one case or the other registered against them. And one more finding: "Almost all State legislatures have some honourable members who should be adorning the jails instead of the august portals of Indian legislatures including our Parliament. Some of them are doing so at present".
With law and order strictly a state subject, there is little that any Central government can do about it, except perhaps issue an advisory. This power has never been used by any Central government. Hence, all the more reason for Joginder Singh's recommendation: Central government should organise special training programmes for law enforcement officers working in kidnap-prone areas to deal with the menace. Recommendation number two: When the Centre makes funds available for the modernisation of the police forces, it should make it a point to link the same with occurrence of crime against human beings, including kidnapping. |
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