Sunday, Mar 02, 2003
Sunday, Mar 02, 2003 |
| Southern States | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Southern States
-
Tamil Nadu
By Syed Muthahar
The "farce" shocked the citizens here and Ms. Nirmala Rani filed a petition in the Madras High Court, embarrassing the city police. The strictures on the Tiruchi police and the slapping of a heavy fine on the Srirangam Assistant Commissioner have reminded the Government of the need to break the nexus between criminals and some elements in the law enforcement agency. Also, it is time for the Government to prevent abuse and whimsical misuse of the SC and ST Act against vociferous sections. Allowing Ms. Nirmala Rani's plea that the police had foisted a case on her, Justice V. Kanagaraj made adverse comments against not only the ACP but also his superiors of the Tiruchi city police and directed that disciplinary proceedings be initiated against them. Much has been said about police connivance in prostitution and trafficking in women. This social evil, the activists and NGOs argue, could never exist without police knowledge, as it is totally impossible to conceal it from the public eye for long. What irked the High Court was that the police had not only turned a blind eye to the illegal activity but also the fact that they did not act "responsibly", even after the issue had been brought to light. It is high time the Government took strong measures to put an end to the "unholy alliance" between police and criminals and also checked the abuse of SC and ST (PA) Act, the AIDWA State general secretary, Vasuki, said here today. Ms. Nirmala Rani had preferred a petition to the Collector, the National Human Rights Commission and the Additional DGP, CB-CID, on October 18 last, demanding action against Mohana, who was allegedly involved in inter-State trafficking in women. But a case was registered against her only on October 29. Meanwhile, the issue took a curious turn when the police all of a sudden registered a case, within a week, against Ms. Nirmala Rani herself on the complaint preferred by Mohana under the SC and ST (PA) Act. The police action drew flak from various quarters and Ms. Nirmala Rani moved the court. The police registering a case against her was seen as yet another instance of how this Act was being misused by the law enforcing agency itself, despite complaints from the very day of its enactment. That the police too were in the habit of misusing the law has come as a rude shock. Ms. Vasuki urged that the police, besides expediting the case against Mohana, trace the 14 girls allegedly pushed into prostitution by her. On many occasions, the police were not using the law to bring to book people who really harassed Dalits. People would lose faith in the Act, if it was misused by the police force itself. Ms. Vasuki was quick to point out that the case against Ms. Nirmala Rani was the only one booked by the city PCR wing police in the recent past. She said the city police seized AIDWA posters, hailing the court verdict, when they were being taken for display on walls. She demanded the immediate return of posters, failing which, she would move the court again.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
