A reprehensible crime

Crime is a part of human societies, so is punishment for crime. But certain crimes are so horrific that no punishment can be matching to the level of crime. One such crime was committed at Nishat, Srinagar just days back. The victim, an innocent girl belonging to a nomadic community not only lost her life in this incident but left a deep scar on all of us as a human society. A gang of individuals who committed this crime deserve a punishment that fits the crime. Though the reprehensibility of the crime is such that not even a death sentence can compensate the loss in this case. But to create an example for others, to create a deterrent, and also to send across a message that the honour and life of an innocent girl matters, the concerned government agencies should ensure that the culprits are given the severest possible punishment.

This crime has shaken us, as a human society, to the core. If the honour of an innocent girl is not safe, we must do some deep introspection. If the life of a girl can be snatched in such gruesome manner, the law enforcing agencies have a question mark staring in their face. The anger and anguish expressed by people over this incident should be received by the officials with utmost respect and concern. Not only that, the concerned officials should respond in ways that none in future dares to think of such a crime. The hallmark of a decent society is that women and children are safe. That way it puts a question mark on us as a society. Likewise, the hallmark of an efficient law and order system is that crime is stopped before it is committed. That way the officials have to take a call on why such a crime could become possible in the first place.

Beyond expressing sympathies with the family, beyond the expression of grief and anger, we need to ensure that the criminals are punished, punished severely, and punished soon.