Okay, so we all have seen Bollywood movies and how the police always arrive on the crime scene after the entire incident is over! In fact, we all have always had this perception about police and government servants in general, we know they are lazy, they don’t take their work too seriously or waste a lot of time in unnecessary things rather than taking timely steps and action. No offence friends, but, anyone who has ever been to a government office will agree with me on this.
Police, among all the government servants, are associated a lot with bribes and even with missing out important clues in crucial cases. If you watched the recent movie ‘Talwar’ that is based on the epic double murder case of Aarushi and their domestic help Hemraj in Noida, you definitely know how crucial evidence was missed by the police merely because of their carelessness. The case, which should have been an open and shut case, then took different turns only to remain one of the most puzzling and unsolved mysteries in the crime history of India.
And so is the case of Salman Khan! Salman Khan’s hit and run case has been a talk of the town lately mainly because it arrived on a conclusion. The court recently gave its verdict in the case and acquitted the superstar of the crime because there was no strong evidence to prove that the actor was actually drunk driving the car on the fateful night. But, the verdict pronounced by the court was so funny that it actually motivated people to come up with funny tweets and countless memes, because, some way or the other, it meant that neither Salman Khan nor his driver was driving the car back then. (Read: So The Court Means It Was A Driverless Car? Seriously? )
The hit and run case that happened back in 2002 only met its final verdict in 2015 which means it took 13 years for the Mumbai Police and the court to prove that the actor was guilty in the case or not. And now, after a span of thirteen years, when the judgment in the case has been already passed, it seems Mumbai Police has woken up from a deep sleep.
As I was checking out the headlines on NDTV’s website this morning, there was this article that said Mumbai Police came up with a declaration that they made some serious mistakes in the Salman Khan probe. And, if I have to particular, the article also stated in detail all the 16 mistakes that were made by the police in the case. Yes, you read that right! As many as 16 mistakes! Wow! I mean after the judgment in the case is passed and the criminal is actually acquitted of the crime, the police wake up to confess that their probe contained about 16 mistakes. No doubt, this is India!
I am not against anybody here. I know we are a huge country with loads of crime happening in every corner of the city every day. Of course, it is difficult to investigate all of these crimes to perfection and give justice to each and every person. And I think this is the very reason why legal cases in India remain pending for years together and people have to wait for decades to actually obtain justice. But, even after investing their time and money in getting justice and waiting patiently for so many years, is it fair that such mistakes happen and justice is miscarried?
By the way, the Indian Constitution confers on every citizen the right to lead a happy and secure life and also the right to justice. But, in many cases, especially in cases where wealthy and influential people are involved, justice is often refused and the police and even the judiciary falls prey to corruption. In India, politicians, businessmen and celebrities and even the people closely associated with them think that they can commit any crime and get away with it because they have fully loaded bank accounts. But how fair is this, is my question here!
The police and the court had 13 damn years to come to a conclusion, to establish who was at fault on that fateful night and what actually caused the accident that killed one and injured many others. And 13 years is not a small span of time, I think. It is enough for anyone to probe a case correctly, collect evidence, perform tests and get reports. Yet, the span doesn’t seem to have been enough for our police! After so much of ramayan happening about the case, the police are now releasing their statement that they missed essential clues, missed performing checks of important officials involved in the case and even recording the statements of eye witnesses and the victims.
Then, my question is, on what basis was the judgment delivered? Was it merely on speculations? Or did the officials actually get attracted by the huge amount that is thought to have been offered to them to deliver the verdict in the superstar’s favour? C’mon we all know Salman Khan had been accused of the crime in the first place for a reason! In fact, his bodyguard had even given a statement against him, clearly stating that the actor was driving the car that night. And, if we consider the crime history of Salman Khan, we know very well about the chinkara case that was yet another attention seeker and a talk of the B-town.
But, to restore our faith in money and fame, the actor was acquitted of all the murder charges against him and the judgment came in his favour. And, since Bhai has such a great fan following, most of the world rejoiced about the court’s decision, rather than condemning it for killing justice. My heart goes out to the family of the deceased who lost his life on that fateful night.
But then, it was a poor family, staying and sleeping on a footpath and it doesn’t make any difference to anyone if such a person is killed. But yeah, if a superstar goes to jail after committing a grave crime, then it’s a big deal because people love them for their looks, their dashing personality and their entertaining movies. This is sad!
I don’t mean that the police force in India is useless or has not done anything useful or valuable yet. Yes, there have been times when the police have gone a step further to ensure law and order in the city and help common people like you and me to end crime in the city. And yes, I know these government employees are highly underpaid; they enjoy the least holidays compared to you and me and the nature of their work involves huge risks to them and their family. But this does not justify carelessness in work in any way.
In India, the police force is not given appropriate training to deal with crimes and criminals, to amass crucial evidence and conduct professional investigations. Most of them also do not have the privilege of having secure and good quality weapons, bullet proof jackets, etc. This may lead to such petty and foolish mistakes in investigations that can turn an otherwise simple case into a really complicated one.
I wish the Mumbai Police had revealed this mistake sheet a few months before the verdict so that it could have given a new direction to the investigations and created a hope in the minds of people. Now, we have no option but to wait and watch if the case is reopened or the trial is conducted afresh once again!
