Hungry for credit
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: July 17 , 2013 -
On June 19 last, a 17-year old Muslim girl had gone to Yairipok Universal College in Thoubal district to seek admission.
But she was abducted by one Md Taj Khan, a VDF personnel, and his accomplices from the college campus, and after raping her, the poor girl was dropped at her Yairipok Changamdabi Mathak Leikai residence in the midnight of the same day.
The incident came to light barely a week after the District and Sessions Court, Manipur West passed a landmark judgment in connection with the gang-rape of a woman U-morok seller, sentencing all the four accused rapists, including two IRB personnel, to rigorous life imprisonment even though the victim is lucky enough to be still alive to see the punishment meted out to her rapists.
However, despite revealing the identity of the rapist and several pleas made for arresting all the culprits involved in the incident, the police did nothing more than maintaining that investigation into the case was on and efforts were being made to nab the culprits, thus, compelling the aggrieved local residents of Yairipok Changamdabi Mathak Leikai to launch various intense agitations including imposition of State-wide bandh and storming the police station to demand immediate arrest and punishment of the rapist and his accomplices, who were led scot-free.
Now, after nearly a month of the incident and ceaseless agitations, the locals of Yairipok Changamdabi Mathal Leikai themselves have managed to pull up Mamsamayum Itocha, a co-accused in the case, who has finally spilled the beans and revealed the identity of all others involved in the rape case during a press conference held at the residence of Pradhan of Yairipok Changamdabi Gram Panchayat on July 15.
What is interesting here is that a day after this, the local MLA convened another press conference at his official residence to make the same announcement about the arrest of the co-accused by the locals and the subsequent handing over of the arrestee to the Director General of Police.
The MLA also assured every possible assistance from his side towards ensuring justice to the victim. Being the elected representative of the people, there may be nothing wrong in doing this.
But a question that has struck the mind of the people is, what the honourable MLA has doing all these times when the aggrieved locals were out in the street protesting against the rape and demanding arrest of the culprits? Other than giving the impression of being credit hungry, such half-hearted concern shown by elected representatives in Manipur time and again when cases have been almost solved by the people themselves is not going to help in curbing the problem of rising crimes and violence against women, regardless of many landmark judgments that could be passed by law courts.
Public would have applauded if the ‘clueless’ SP, SDPO and IO concerned have been made to face the music, and the credit would have gone to anyone who deserves it without even asking.
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