Sad State of Affairs

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.