The absolute despair and the absurdity of local police especially in connection to accused with political connections come to light in the Kerala kidnapping case. A 14 year old girl, daughter of a nomadic couple from Rajasthan, was kidnapped from her home on Monday in Oachira, Kerala. A four-member gang has barged into the house and abducted the girl after assaulting her parents. 3 of the accused in this case, Ananthu, Bipin and Pyari- who is wanted in another sexual assault case; have been arrested. But the 4th perpetrator, Muhammad Roshan who happened to be the son of a local Communist Party of India (CPI) leader is still at large.
The police believe that Roshan has taken the girl out of the state, possibly to Bangalore. However, there is no trace of him as he has switched off his mobile phone. The car used for the crime had been abandoned at Kayamkulam. “The abductors have taken the girl out of the state. We have a team following them and there will be arrests soon,” said Sub Inspector of Oachira station B Sabu.
The victim’s parents have stated that the girl was being subjected to sexual harassment and that they had been trying to report to the local police for the same. Nevertheless, the police turned a blind eye towards their claims and instead of taking action against the culprits they allegedly asked the parents to dress the victim as a boy. Moreover, the police, in an effort to hide their own incompetency and negligence have stated that the victim “willingly eloped” with Roshan about a year ago and was successfully made to return back. This time she has been successful in running away willingly.
Seeing the sorry state of the local Kerala police, the state’s human rights commission and the Women’s Commission have taken suo-moto cognisance of the matter. Commission member K Mohankumar said there were complaints that police did not follow up the case when the family complained before. The commission will consider the case in its sitting on April 25.
The power and monopoly that the leftist party has over citizen services is gruesome. The girl belongs to a not so well off family, who makes their ends meet by selling plaster-of-Paris figurines on the side of National Highway-66. However, every citizen has the basic rights and deserves justice. The perpetrator belonging to a powerful family has led the police to ignore the girl’s pleas of sexual harassment for a long time; an action which is not just negligent, but illegal. The fact that 3 perpetrators have been found and not the 4th one who just happens to be the son of a CPI leader further goes on to prove that the police are in no way interested in rectifying their malpractice. With the interference of Human Rights Commission, some relief can be expected as it is hoped that the local CPI leader has not been able to corrupt and influence the state organization.