Chennai no longer the secure city it used to be

Tamil Nadu would once pride itself for probably having one of the best mechanisms where law and order is concerned. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa had said during her previous term that CCTVs would be installed in all key places and buildings.

That plan or promise has clearly not been fulfilled and the state has witnessed 13 brutal murders in the past month alone of which 5 have been in broad day light. Just a day before the murder of Swathi at the railway station in Chennai, the police had found a woman and her three children murdered.

How safe is Tamil Nadu?

There was a time when Jayalalithaa's worst critics had praised her when it came to her handling of law and order. She was quick to suggest measures to better women's safety following the horrific Nirbhaya incident. She had even done a commendable job by reigning in the rowdies in the state.

However in the past month alone there have been 13 murders. Investigations had found that some were concerned to land disputes while others related to rowdyism. In this context let us also date back to an incident that took place in February 2014. Uma Maheshwari working with an IT firm was found dead. Her body was recovered from a bush near her company.

The murder of Swathi that too in a railway station in the morning has once again raised concerns about women's safety. What is quite shocking is that the murder took place in the busy Nungambakkam railway station at 6.30 AM. In a day and age when security has to be the most primary concern of any government, this railway station had no CCTV cameras. The footage had to be obtained from a CCTV which was installed outside a police station.

The manner in which this investigation has been handled is nothing to tom-tom about. The response by the police was late. They were groping in the dark for want of CCTV footage from the railway station. The police are yet to identify the person and it has been four days since the incident has taken place.