Editorial
The tragedy of Aleya
When will such criminal impunity end?
The horrendous incident that took place in the city the other day and that too in broad daylight in full view of the public leaves us stupefied. It was clearly the most upsetting for us in recent times. The jilted lover of a young woman (and this lover incidentally has a wife already), in company with his accomplices, set the woman on fire through pouring petrol on her. As we write this editorial, the young woman Aleya struggles for survival in hospital. She just might live or she might see her life come to a painful end. The point here is that criminality has reached a stage where those who engage in it are increasingly demonstrating newer versions of audacity in their sinister work. That is cause for new worry.
What does that tell us? It is simply this: that criminals are today operating with a degree of impunity never imagined before. It only proves that the law may have become so inoperative or ineffectual, because of the failure of the law enforcers to have their writ run, that criminal elements now think little of being penalized for their nefarious deeds. There are clear reasons why such incidents as sexual harassment have registered a rise of late. Add to that reports of the deaths of young women driven to their end by demands for dowry. And now that Aleya fights for her life merely because she rejected the advances of a man, we can raise the very legitimate question of what the law enforcing authorities plan to do about it. The unfortunate reality is that in similar cases earlier, little or no action was taken. Of course, cases were registered and the police made themselves busy inquiring into the incidents, in the initial stages. But then everything fizzled out and everyone but the victims and their families appeared to forget the sordid episodes. Again, there have been instances where the police have simply refused to take cases. In consequence, there has been no punishment of those responsible for the plight of such women as Aleya. This lack of sentencing and conviction has naturally given rise to the impunity with which criminals such as Aleya's attacker operate today.
We demand that there be a change in conditions. We take this opportunity to praise those members of the public who were able to nab one of the criminals who attacked Aleya. But then, they fell short of preventing her torching. This only raises the important point that greater reflexive action on the part of the community is vital in checking criminality.
More crucially, unless deterrent punishment is meted out to those responsible for such crimes, society will continue to be on a slide. Let a good, effective and swift example be set by bringing Aleya's attackers to justice.
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