Andhra Pradesh government has set a commendable example by tendering an apology to the Muslim community for falsely involving around 70 Muslim youths in Makkah Masjid blast case. It has further accepted the guilt of police by giving compensation of Rs. 3 lakh each to 15 victims and Rs. 20,000 each to 46 victims who were falsely accused, tortured and made to confess under duress their uncommitted crimes and dragged to courts of law. It goes to the credit of judiciary that it threw the false cases at the face of police and honourably acquitted the innocent youths. Of course the innocents had to languish behind bars for about 2 years. Can we compensate the physical, mental and social torture the innocent Muslim youths were subjected to and the hardship they faced in jail and society?
The investigation in Makkah Masjid blast took a new turn after the confession of Aseemanand who spelt the beans about who were the real hands behind the blast. CBI further investigated the case and came out with the conclusion that extremist Hindu outfit Abhinav Bharat was behind the blast. (Mind, it can’t be termed terrorist because it is not a Muslim organization)
For fuller justice the police officers who indulged in falsification of facts and torture must be brought to book and penalized. Rs. 70 lakh that is being paid to the victims should be deducted from the salaries of the guilty policemen. A heavy dose of sense of duty and propriety must be administered to the police force.
Take a look at Bhanwari murder case in which a cabinet minister and an MLA of the ruling Congress in Rajasthan is involved. The investigation proves that if CBI pursues a case honestly every crime, however complicated and big it may be, can be cracked. The investigation shows how Bhanwari was done to death, her dead body burnt and her semi-burnt body parts scattered and disposed off in a canal. CBI has successfully unearthed every detail. Think why this was not done in such a way in the case of Kausar Bi, and how within 4 months the details about the gruesome murder of Bhanwari have been revealed. We need to de-communalize and detoxify police force, teach it a lesson or two in truth, humanity and honesty. Over 150 policemen and 50 divers have been pressed in service to search the canal for Bhanwari’s body parts. The flow of the canal has been stopped temporarily. Why such detailed investigation was not done in the case of Kausar Bi?
The common man is right in his conclusion that no crime can be committed and no criminal can go scot-free if police acts honestly.