SECOND CHANCES: TO CRIMINALS OR TO SOCIETY?
It has been two years since the nation was shaken to its very core with the horrific gang rape incident of Nirbhaya. It’s almost the same time of the year and we are yet again faced with the same gory crime.
The similarities between the two incidents are stark and scary. A 26-year old woman hails a cab on a Friday evening after dining at a restaurant. Feeling tired and sleepy she dozes off in the taxi and soon finds herself in an isolated part of the city. The driver rapes her and warns her to keep her mouth shut or else she would be dealt with in the same violent way as Nirbhaya. Silently she suffers and when he is done with her, drops her off near her residence and drives off unaffected.
The Dark Shadows Of horror Source
The sole solace that people found after the Nirbhaya incident was that this may have aroused fear and terror in the hearts of those who might commit this heinous crime and now may be stopped.But here we are, with a rapist instead of feeling scared, has the audacity to threaten the victim with the same kind of violence to be perpetrated upon her as was done on Nirbhaya and walking off unscathed. Though the driver has been nabbed by the police officialswe are yet again standing at the same juncture, feeling as confused and helpless as we did two years ago.
Yet again there are a series of discussions held to find someone to blame. Some are blaming the government. Some are blaming the cab company. And yet some are blaming the woman for dozing off in the car, for being out at night, for being a woman.
The government assures that they will take strict actions against the accused and the cab company. The cab company apologizes and promises their full support in all investigations. Nobody knows what the woman is going through. The horrors she will be reliving for a long time now and her crushed spirit which will take some time to heal. To add to the matter once the news was out and the rapist Shiv Kumar was arrested several other cases of women he has raped in the past have come forward.
No Safe Place
Up till now six women have reported that they too have been sexually assaulted by Shiv Kumar in the past. He was convicted only once in the past when he molested a bar dancer in Gurgaon in 2011, for which he spent seven months in custody after which he was released as they had reached a settlement. He has been on an assault spree ever since. Undeterred by the police forces and the society, he has been continuing to commit heinous crimes against women.
There are several issues that surround this matter. One being of the cab company’s stake in the matter and the associated responsibilities they share as part of their venture. Uber Cabs are an online booking cab service where they connect potential customers to the nearest cab driver. According to reports, Uber Cab have a Liability Protection Clause, which states that they aren’t responsible for the conduct of the driver. Considering this clause as plausible it leaves Uber Cabs bereft of all responsibility in the matter at least legally. However, police officials have reported that the accused driver wasn’t subjected to any kind of verification by the police which are by law a mandatory exercise for all public vehicles plying in the capital. The company performed no background check on the accused. Apart from that there was no GPS installed in the vehicle and all the connection Uber cabs had with the driver was through a smartphone app which the driver uninstalled post the incident and later switched off his phone which made tracking him impossible for the police. The company issued an apology stating, “We are sorry for what happened. The events have made us reflect on our operations in India and we are undertaking a number of actions.”
Lack of security measures in the cabs Source
The other issue in the matter is that of public safety versus the rehabilitation of criminals in the society. Post this incident especially people have expressed their outrage regarding the employment of ex-criminals for jobs where they can be potentially dangerous to the society. Meanwhile there are others who believe that it is unfair to stereotype on the basis of one incident and that everyone deserves a second chance. We put this debate to people and generated their opinions on the matter.
Atika Sakhawat, a counselor at a leading school of Delhi pointedly said, “A big no from my side. Especially in a matter such as rape, absolutely no. I believe it all depends on the nature of crime that the criminal has been convicted for. When you rob someone and you do it just that one time, you may be given another chance; but when you commit a crime such as rape that is a damage done forever. And therefore, the punishment must be forever too.”
On the other hand, Nitish Rampal, a journalist by profession has a slightly different opinion, “I believe in the do-the-crime-serve-the-time system; and after someone has served the time he/she should be given an opportunity for rehabilitation in the society. But at the same time, I also believe that repeat offenders should be given a much severe punishment.”
Rampant crimes in the city Source
In the present matter, the facts are quite unique and hence need to be understood in isolation. The accused person, given his crime history it seems has a much more severe psychological problem. While his psychological condition is no excuse for the crime he committed and shouldn’t be taken as an excuse to spare him any punishment, but being cognizant of that fact, such offenders perhaps need to be kept in check more than other offenders. Here the nature of crime as well as the personality profiling of the criminal must be done thoroughly before sending the criminal out in the society. Establishing prominent psychological units in the prisons where every prisoner is released after a thorough evaluation by a team of psychiatrists and psychologists and his course of rehabilitation closely monitored by social workers and legal representatives could be important reforms that could be made to address this matter.
Similar strategies for reforms were suggested by others we interviewed. Rajni Sharma, a teacher at a Govt. School expressed her opinion saying, “Safety issues should be addressed by the government undoubtedly. However as a citizen we too have certain responsibilities. We need to be responsible for our safety too. Perhaps clicking the photo of the driver (even if it offends him) before boarding a cab and sending his details along with the vehicle type and number beforehand to a few people could be one of the ways we could ensure our own safety.”
Public Transport : A boon or a bane? Source
Siddhant Sharma, a student, also suggests, “Keeping a check on the criminals that have been recently released by the local police who keeps a vigil eye and tabs on their activities and oversees their rehabilitation could be useful in retaining the rights of the criminals as well as the safety of the citizens.”
The darkness that has shrouded the city due to this incident would hopefully ignite sparks in authorities and citizens alike to address the issue of women safety which at present is thoroughly compromised.
