Spared a lynching

The police angered people by saving a rapist from a lynching, but a life was saved and the court will decide his fate.

It is only occasionally that we here good news these days. The recent account of police saving a man who had allegedly been caught red-handed while attempting to rape a young girl in Gujranwala counts as an instance where police came to the aid of a citizen and did what is legally correct. By upholding the law the police seem to have angered people in the area – but this is somewhat irrelevant given that they saved a life and ensured that any decision about the man’s future will be made by a court. But there are other aspects in the matter that need some thought. In the first place why had a man apparently guilty of raping a dozen young girls in the past – many of them children – been able to escape scot-free? Where was the police at this time and why did it fail so completely in its duty? The question is a relevant one. It is such failings on the part of law enforcers that in part fuel the mob violence we see. This cannot count as an excuse for the instances in which the law is taken into the hands of the people, often with the most terrible consequences. But anger – as a human trait – exists and will surface. It is more likely to do so when there is a feeling that the police are incapable, incompetent or indifferent.

The many aspects of the problem are closely tied together. They can be dealt with only by treating them as a whole. We need desperately to tackle the growing rate of crime in our society. This can happen, at least in part, only if we can improve the efficiency of police. If this does not happen, we will continue to see people take matters into their own hands. Indeed this is happening more and more often. The expressions of anger add to the dangers we face and the risk of yet greater chaos in a society where far too much of it exists already. We must not allow it to grow.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2010.