Asumal Sirumalani and Vijay Jadhav, both
accused of the most heinous of crimes, while Vijay Jadhav raped a lady in
Mumbai Asumal Sirumalani raped a child of sixteen in Jodhpur, the similarity of
the both the cases ends right there.
In the case of Vijay Jadhav and his other
accomplices, the entire Mumbai police force was on the hunt for him. The entire
police machinery was put on the job of tracing and apprehending the culprits,
and the 5 culprits were arrested in 50 hours. The outrage against this crime resonated
across the country right from candle light vigils and demonstrations in the
hinterland to the hallowed portals of the Parliament house, where the leader of
the opposition Sushma Swaraj thundered, “nothing less death for the rapists”.
And no less a person than the Home Minister made a suo moto statement in the Lok
Sabha that the Maharashtra government was in the process of appointing a
special public prosecutor and setting up a fast track court to expedite trial.
All this happened on the 22nd of
August, a few days previously a child of sixteen was raped by Asumal Sirumalani,
a 72 year old man. The girl and her family filed a complaint with the police in
UP and the case was registered on the 21st of August. Since then the
girl and her family have threatened, the child’s character assassinated and she
has been labeled both mentally unstable and/or a conspirator by the supporters
of Asumal Sirumalani, when these did not work one of them also tried to buy off
the silence of the girl and her family. All this while the culprit travels
across the country at will. But, what is surprising is the eerie silence of the
powers that be and voluntary laxity on the part of law enforcement agencies in
taking action. When the police finally nerved itself to summon the culprit, it
waited for over 8 hours as Asumal Sirumalani was occupied elsewhere, would the
same police have waited for 10 minutes for Vijay Jadhav to finish his tasks
before accompanying them to the police station. Not only this, he has been given
the leeway by way of being asked to appear for questioning before the 30th
of August, giving him ample time to tamper with the case and evidence and build
his defense. But the most worrisome is
the eerie silence from the people in power on this heinous of crimes, let alone
speaking out against it public figures instead of rallying behind the hapless
girl have closed their eyes, ears and sense of justice and humanity to silently
watch while this (un)godly man and his supporters go about town, whipping up
communal passions to cover his heinous deed. And what of the Government, “the
Chief Minister the police is investigating the case.” Did he or anyone else
accord the same leeway to Vijay Jadhav and his accomplices they were tried,
convicted and sentenced as soon as it was known who the culprits are. Yet, the
same Government machinery and the media seems to be handling this fiend with
kid gloves and according him the highest respect, in the eyes of the law he
should have been arrested on the 21st of August itself as soon as
the FIR was registered against him and the warrant for his immediate arrest
made.
The
reason why Asumal Sirumalani is being accorded such privileges is because his
other name happens to be Asaram Bapu, who many rever as a god man, let alone
the fact that by this vile deed he has shown himself to be devil incarnate. Until men like Asumal Sirumalani are put on
fast track trail and handed the death sentence, the system will continue to
nurture fiends like Kanda, Asumal and Ram Singh. If the state and central
governments do not the guts to have this man arrested then it is time for the
President, Pranab Mukherjee to step in and fulfill the oath he took, “to
preserve, protect and preserve the dignity of the Nation and its People.” As
the Nation and its citizens cry out for justice like at no other time in its
history.
