Tihar suicide: Was Shinde shocked by TV news this time?

Bangalore, March 11: The suicide of Ram Singh, the prime accused in the Delhi

case of December 16 which had sent shock waves across the nation and abroad, is another humiliation that the government of the day has presented to the nation.

Security never lapsed for the Kasabs and Gurus, because the govt had a bigger stake?

Singh's suicide raises a general doubt about the state of security in a high-profile prison like Tihar but the bigger question is: Is this the government's sense of seriousness towards a pressing social issue like rape and its consequences?

For, it is the same government which had hanged high-profile convicts like Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru within a span of a few months with utmost precision. Guru was hanged in Tihar itself in great secrecy and in both cases, the government did not fail to miss the chance to score a political brownie point. But when the interest of the common people demands an address, the rulers display a casual approach.

Government let the people down

The ongoing trial of the Delhi gangrape case is an important one for it is expected to set a precedent in the annals of the country's judicial history on dealing with crime against women. The death of Singh, who was driving the bus in which a 23-year-old woman was brutally raped and assaulted on the fateful night, is bound to take off some sheen off the case and the nation, which aroused in vigorous protest in the wake of the incident, will feel betrayed.

Why the government betrayed its own people even after it initiating steps in the right direction? Had it allow such lapse in security in the jail when it came to people like Kasab and Guru? Certainly not.

Will the suicide change focus now?

Singh's death will only mean that the focus of the case will change now. More legal and technical issues on his committing suicide will take the front seat while the all-important issue like rape and crime against women will fade away. Debate on whether it was indeed a suicide or a suspected murder will intensify. If anything is indeed proved fishy, then the case will take an entirely new course. The human rights organisations have already raised a voice. Questions are also being raised about delay in judicial proceedings.

Tears, tough words are meaningless, the real issue is the work on the ground

The suicide at Tihar also let down the commendable work done by the Justice Verma Committee in the wake of the Delhi gangrape case. The tears and tough talks of senior leaders will ultimately prove to be meaningless if authorities fail to tighten things on the ground while dealing with cases that have serious social relevance.

Sushilkumar Shinde was very proud after the two political hangings were carried out in recent past. He even boasted that the top leadership came to know about the hangings from television! Such was his department's alacrity. Did Shinde himself learn about Singh's suicide from TV this time?

The poetic justice is complete. Not the real one.

OneIndia News