Justice from the Court, not the street : Insulting call for justice
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 09, 2012 -

Police stopping the Protest Rally for Loitam Richard at Imphal on 07 May 2012 :: Pix - Bunti Phurailatpam

"Go to the law Court if you want justice. Do not come out on the streets, staging rallies to demand justice." This is absolutely correct.

No two ways about it, for after all it is not the street which will deliver justice but the Court of law but as is with everything in life, this statement, correction, an order barked out by a police officer on May 7, should be seen in the context in which it was made.

This 'gem' of an advice from a police official came while a large number of students were staging a rally to demand justice for the 'murder' of Loitam Richard and Okram Laaba.

The case of Okram Laaba dates back to about a year and since it is still hazy, it would be in the fitness of things for this commentary to centre more on the death of Loitam Richard.

The rally staged in the heart of Imphal city was but a part of the world wide movement launched by natives of the State and like-minded individuals and organisations and came in the backdrop of the blabbering of the Dean of the institute where the late young student studied.

To put things in its correct perspective a look back at the development since Richard was found dead under mysterious circumstances is in line. At first the Bangalore police registered the case under section 174 (C) of the IPC which had nothing to do with homicide, despite the tell tale external injuries found on the body of the young student.

Then came the canards spread by the people from the Acharya NRV College of Architecture that Richard was a drug abuser with the Dean even going to the extent of stating that the late young student was 'temperamental' and underlined his stand with the explanation that he used to sleep late.

The State Home Minister Gaikhangam reportedly wrote to his Karnataka counterpart on the matter a few days after the death of the student came to light but for reasons best known to the Government here, it was treated like a classified information.

Only when the protests started echoing across the nook and corner of the country was this information given to the media here. Nothing short of a damage control exercise to let the people know that the State Government is doing something on the matter.

Next came the revelation that the State Government had not at all deputed an official team to Bangalore in connection with the case and the police officer who happened to go to Bangalore went there in his personal capacity as the uncle of Richard.

The present team led by an officer of the rank of an SP was sent much later. Chief Minister O Ibobi too contacted his Karnataka counter part only when the Manipuri Diaspora, the students, professionals and others started raising their pitch for justice.

It was against this backdrop that the rally was staged at Imphal on May 7 to demand justice for the 'murder' of Loitam Richard and seen in this context, the rasping order barked out by the police official had nothing to do with the Court of law nor with Justice but had much more to do with how impudently the men in khakis have been wearing the badge of arrogance on their shirt.

It was crude, insensitive and down right degrading to a departed soul and to think that such a demeaning and insensitive statement should come from a man who have sprung up from the same soil of the late student makes it all that more unpalatable.

In fact, the blabbering from the Dean of the institute where the late Richard studied pales in comparison to such a crude and insulting statement from the police official.

Home Minister Mr Gaikhangam should take note of this if he really meant that refurbishing the image of the State police is on top of his agenda.

It is not about a single episode that we are talking about here, but about the overall attitude of the police.

The understanding of police modernisation should go beyond merely arming them with the latest, state-of-the-art arms and weapons, but should entail remoulding their characters and conduct, vis-a-vis the public and especially when it comes to sensitive and delicate matters.

What happened to Richard could have happened to anyone and there is no guarantee that it will not happen.

The students and professionals from Manipur who have set up base outside the State need all the encouragement and acknowledgement for their efforts and the successful mobilisation drive is something which the cop, who was insensitive enough to bark out such an order, needs a good jolt and a poke where it matters to wake him up to the reality of the situation.

Mr Gaikhangam still have a lot of work to do, and as we have said earlier, arresting and penalising cops caught on the wrong side of the law is just not enough to refurbish the image of the State police. The badge of arrogance should be stripped off without further delay.