Shimla rape aftermath

IF public protests over the rape and murder of a schoolgirl have continued for so long even after the arrest of suspects and handing over of the inquiry to the CBI, it is partly because of erosion of faith in the Virbhadra Singh government. The situation has been allowed to boil over by an insensitive and inept administration. In an election year the Congress cannot let public mood turn against its own government. Everything that could be done in such a situation was done but only after a buildup of public pressure. Nirbhaya-type protests spread across Himachal Pradesh and outside because of a belief that the state administration was bent on shielding the guilty. Whether this belief is right or wrong will be known after the CBI probe, but political damage may be irreparable.

As if the charge of bias was not damning enough, the police displayed utter incompetence in letting a custody death happen, that too in such a high-profile case. Small wonder public anger again erupted, accompanied by the burning of a police station. The victim’s father and the wife of the suspect beaten to death in police custody have challenged the police version, strengthening the view that the real culprits have remained untouched. Of course mob violence cannot be condoned or allowed to dictate the course of investigation, but the administration failed to put up a credible and convincing version of the tragic happenings. 

The BJP cannot be faulted for politically exploiting the situation. A veteran like Virbhadra Singh was expected to display greater maturity in responding to such a situation. Instead, he fanned trouble by making provocative statements. “Enough is enough. I know how to deal with such politically motivated agitations,” he said, adding that the protests were planned in advance and financed by someone. Of course, he was hinting at the BJP but how would he explain Congressmen joining the clamour for justice. HPCC president Sukhu has admitted that there was “negligence” in the police probe. Infighting and insensitive handling of the schoolgirl’s murder and rape may cost the Congress dearly in elections later this year.