Rape of Justice

Muhammad Aslam Awan
Hardly a few days have passed that a minor girl of five years “Marva” was assassinated after rape by crushing her head with bricks and then burnt to ashes. The echoes of this heart rendering crime had been buried under the thunderous bang of Motorway gang rape incident. I.G. Police and other top guns of Police Department remained busy day and night in the investigation of Motorway incident because it has been highlighted nationally and internationally and all political parties are busy in politicizing the incident to fortify their own interests. These parties are not concerned about the incident. They are purely concerned about the appointment of CCPO Umar Sheikh and making their best efforts to make the appointment of CCPO a bone of contention. It appears that PML(N) had a single point agenda to remove the CCPO and replaced by any other person, a head lesser attentive to PML(N) vested interests. But PM Imran Khan, seeing prima facie, had no mood to dislodge the Umar Sheikh, and such a demeanor of PM Imran Khan is the constant cause of headache to PML(N) big wigs, what is the underlying reason, God knows better the hidden secrets of hearts. Child and woman rape cases are, sorrowfully, increasing day by day. In 2019, according to a survey conducted by an NGO, child abuse cases number reached the alarming figure of 2846. Women rape cases are in addition to this figure. This figure is based on newspaper reported cases. There is a large number of women rape  cases, which go unreported due to the police behavior. Unluckily Police Stations have a reputation of a facilitator of crimes, people fear and tremble before they attend Police Stations because they know that there they would be humiliated, threatened, misbehaved and the registration of rape cases will be made impossible to diminish the accuracy of preliminary symbols of commission of crime and make the DNA’s accuracy disappear. Being a Journalist I have witnessed that police plays a role of facilitator of crimes not that of crimes killers. National and international media is haunted with the propaganda that Pakistan is a lawless state, where the life and honour of citizens is not safe and the state don’t have the capability to defend the life and liberty of citizens.

Motorway rape incident have Shaken the minds of citizens and they feel that they are vulnerable to decoits and rapists, attempts. Since the independence – after the lapse of 73 years-the oft repeated slogan of police reforms is still to be incarnated into reality. Every incumbent government has professed vehemently that the days have come to reform the age old police system. But here the sane minds of citizens are reminiscent that several new laws have been enacted and several old ones have been amended to tailor these to the changed circumstances. It is evident that the rapists are liable to death punishment and the minimum life imprisonment is awarded to the rapists. DNA is a corroborative test to make sure that the alleged person is the same who has committed the offence. The accuracy of the DNA is acknowledged throughout the world. DNA has reduced the chances of implication of innocent citizens in false cases to Zero. One is wondered when listens without the recession of a single day that several women and minor girls are raped in Pakistan. After the occurrence of sad incident Police high- ups immediately appear on the stage, profess routine slogans that the culprits would be behind the bars within no time and be brought to the court to face exemplary punishment. Culprits are arrested and brought before the pubic with the same old claims, the citizens are weary of their old memories to preserve and wait for the last episode of the sad and condemned incidence. After the wastage of long span of time one listens that the  have been released due to lack of substantive proof of the commission of crime or the other common reason that the victim had withdrawn her charge. After the occurrence of sad incidence FIR is registered and the despite the incisive DNA and confirmation of the accuracy of the crime and culprits, the police department makes the investigation procedure so cumbersome and painful that the victim and her near and dear one’s get weary of the Police behavior and lengthy, derogatory investigation. Often during investigation the I.O. of the case deliberately create lacunas and vacuum points in the case that the offenders gain benefit of doubt and ultimately get themselves exonerated with the maneuvering of the Police. Police system is so woven from top to bottom that even black sheep of the department are given blanket patronage by high-ups. It is futile to make drum beating that it is high time to execute police reforms. There are already sufficient laws to have a severe clutch of law on the neck of back sheep. Police high-ups have been given sufficient powers to stall corruption and corrupt practices in the department. The need is only to exercise these powers honestly and diligently. Secondly no doubt political pressure is the main reason in the debacle of Police image in the general masses. Police high-ups don’t exercise their powers to arrest the black sheep of the department, rather they encourage the malpractices and corrupt elements to boost their own vested interests. The high time need of the hour is to purge the police department of corrupt elements and to ensure the recruitment of the honest persons in the department, while making recruitment in the department. The ancestral history be verified to ascertain the loyalty of the candidates pedigree to the state, candidates having skeptical backgrounds be discouraged from key posts. Transparency in the recruitment procedure be strictly ensured and at the principle of transparency no compromise be encouraged. There are several gang rape or individual rape cases occurring daily in the country. Victims of rape case are often pressurized by rapists and that is mainly due to the police black sheeps, who after having greased their palms by the offenders facilitate them to build up pressure on victims to withdraw the case or leave pursuance of the case. It has been observed that offenders of such serious crimes often threaten the victims and their families and the victims, to save their skins, succumb to the pressure and leave the pursuance of case. Laws be enacted to provide complete shelter to the victims and her family and police officials found guilty of maneuvering with criminals are required to be dealt with iron hands and severe punishments be awarded to them and be immediately rusticated from government service. Special speedy trial courts are required to be constituted to deal all rape cases and abuse of children. Frequent occurrence of rape cases and abuse of children exhibit the criminal trends of society fatal to state, law and order situation and the cause of creation of turbulence in peaceful life. A separate wing of Police Department be constituted to investigate rape cases, headed by an honest officer, not less than the rank of DIG and his team consist of diligent, intelligent, honest and responsible officers. If the incumbent government fails in executing immediate drastic changes in the probe of rape case and abuse of children, it will tantamount to live in a savage society, confronting fatal repercussions and having no other future than utter decadence.