Girls are being molested in the night or on road and fields,
accident victims lying on the road with nobody to help them and elderly persons
lying helpless or being murdered at home, this is what one keeps reading in
newspapers or seeing on the TV channels. Is the society become so self centred
that people just walk by or stand and watch or more importantly they have time
to make a video but do not come forward to help the victim? It is very simple
to blame the non adequateness of the police personnel or lack f CCTV or to the
insensitivity of the persons watching but very few persons really sit back and
analyse as to why this is happening and why the society or its members are
becoming so insensitive?
Today, there were two news items in the newspaper. One was the
announcement by the Delhi Govt of giving cash award of Rs.2000/= to a person
who takes the accident victim to the hospital and of being given a certificate.
The other was the story of the person, a retired army havaldar, who called the
police and ambulance and stood by the two victims of Dec 2012 case and helped
them. The story goes on to say that due
to frequent call by the police to give evidence and the frequent visit to the
courts, he lost his job in a firm and now even finds it difficult to feed his
family. I d not think he will ever venture out to help another victim. This is
not the end; another person who took accident victims to the hospital and made
a police complaint was arrested and put in police lock up for two days on the
false charge that he had caused the accident. No doubt people just video the
accident and upload on you tube but after hat just walk away or just stand and
watch and maybe one odd person may ventures the courage to inform 100 about it,
which invariably arrives too late. Stories like this are numerous and everybody
blames the society and its member for insensitivity. Firstly police cannot be
everywhere as the ratio f one policeman to the number of citizens is probably
lowest in world and not to talk about the corruption and politicization of its
personnel. Of course there is a need for sensitizing the police personnel,
increasing their number, freeing them from VIP duties and politicization and
better equipment and pay but that is one part of the problem. The other part is
the sensitization of the society which cannot be done by cash award or a piece
of paper. The fear needs to be removed that the citizen will not be harassed,
will not have to make frequent rounds of police station and then the courts as
the case will drag on for years and in every hearing he has to spend money from
his pocket and take leave and waste time and effort to be just told that
another date of the case has been given due to some reason. This frequent leave
applications and absence may just cost him his job as was the case with the havaldar.
It is this fear of police, visits to police stations, endless waiting, and
harassment just to give statement and on top it all the fear of cross examination
by them and may be arrest by the police. If this was not all, then after the
case is filed the same things starts all over again in the courts. All this harassment
forces a person’s to think whether he has done a right thing by helping and
whether he will he do it again. At the same time the general public who become
aware of his ordeal, and bad news travels like lightning to other person, will
shy away from doing any such good or helpful act. It is this fear which needs
to be removed not just by some directions from the court or by the government
but by actually following it on the ground and making the authorities and
citizens aware of it.
During my corporate life, after a career in armed forces, I
had to travel about 80-100 km every day to the factories in other state, and have
had my share of problems of helping the accident victims. I have even brought
them to the hospital and informed police about it. I had my share of bad experiences of vehicles not stopping people
refusing to help, doctors refusing to attend patients, asking me my
details first, insisting on forms being filled up, information to
police, non availability of stretchers or ambulances and one lady doctor even
had the guts to tell me as to why I have brought this gutter insect to the
government hospital and the police taking their time to arrive, asking me my
details and even going to check my car for dents and signs of accident,
refusing to lodge a complaint and at time even questioning my motive and
threatening me with detention and arrest. During these difficult times it was only
my knowledge of law and the acquaintanceship with senior officials which helped.
But does a common citizen have access to these senior officials and has even a basic
knowledge of his legal rights or responsibilities. These are the main reasons
why people stand, watch, make videos but refuse to help the person by just
walking away and even if they have witnessed it just decide to keep quiet about
it and feign ignorance so as not to get involved in the long drawn out process
and harassment at the police station and in the courts. It is for the executive
and judiciary to take notice of these factors and work together in order to
remove the fear from the mind of common citizen and in its absence any other
simple measure will not be of any help at all.
