Justice denied in Hyderabad rape case
The encounter conducted by the Hyderabad police of the four men alleged to have raped and murdered Priyanka Reddy, violates human rights and also violates their right to prove that they are innocent (“Hyderabad encounter: Why many Indians cheered police for killing gang rape accused”, Gulf News, December 6). The society lauding the Hyderabad police shooting, which took place in India, should remember that they were just accused and were not proven guilty. The police caught these four young men, alleging that they had committed the crime, but no legal proceedings had even started. In any situation, the police have no authority to punish them in any manner. Their duty is to present the accused before a legal court and submit a First Information Report (FIR).
This incident is a deep wound in the heart of the modern society. We have seen many cases in the past in which the court has acquitted those accused. The police justified the shooting and said that the men accused snatched the officers’ guns, which is difficult for people to accept. How could the accused snatch the weapons from a team of officers? In short, our judicial system is greatly tarnished and basic human rights of individuals are totally doomed by this episode.
From Mr Sayed Mohaammad Shafi’ee
Kerala, India
Taking matters in their own hands
I would like to salute all police officers that were involved in the encounter of the alleged rapists in the Priyanka Reddy case. I request all parents to give their children good values and teach them to respect women. All parents should keep an eye on their children and take responsibility to know what they are doing outside the house.
From Mr Parul Sharma
UAE
Facebook comment
Infuriating circumstances in India
The recent rape cases in India have been horrific. The violence and the brutality with which, women, young girls and children are being treated, is appalling. And yet, the government is silent. It has been many years since the Delhi Nirbhaya case and we still don’t have quick justice, we don’t have stricter laws and we don’t have a safe environment for women. People till today still debate whether women were wearing appropriate clothes, if they were out too late and if they were out alone, when such incidents come in the news. When in reality, no one is talking about the patriarchal mind-set which needs to be changed. No one talks about the education needed to understand that women are equal, and have rights. What have we achieved as a society if we are unable to protect human beings and give them the rights they deserve? When it comes to creating new banks notes, imposing laws that benefit those in power, India’s parliament moves mountains overnight. But when the women of the country cry, suddenly no one is listening.
From Ms Alia Imran
UAE
No fear of punishment?
A criminal is scared of only one thing while committing a crime – the fear of getting caught. He never thinks of the punishment. If the police can catch the right person who committed the crime, and give them a stricter sentence, crime rate can be reduced.
From Mr Basilio Marques
Dubai
Encounters are not the answer
Really, is this how justice should be served? Fake encounters are dangerous for the public and admiring it is like giving a free hand to the police to kill anyone they want. This is wrong at all levels. The culprits should be punished through legal channels. They could have expedited the legal proceedings, found a punishment given by the court. You should never let the police by the judges.
From Mr Khaleel Rehman
UAE
Crime rate will increase
The Hyderabad encounter where four men accused of raping and murdering a veterinarian were killed was shocking. Justice delayed is justice denied. Unfortunately it is common in India, the country with its high population and complicated law proceedings that many times, Indian courts fail to provide quick justice to people. Nowadays, it is evident that most politicians do work for their own gains. They are more interested in vote bank politics, and to make the matter worse, there are many criminals in Indian politics irrespective of the colour of their party flag. Only a committed government really looking to help people will speed up legal proceedings in India. If they cannot implement a speedy legal proceeding with the help of latest technology, the crime and its execution similar to the recent unfortunate incidents occurred in Hyderabad will be repeated.
From Mr V. H. Unnikrishnan
Dubai
The education system
The article published in Gulf News about exams being stressful has improved my week considerably (“No exams for Indian schools? Is this a good thing?”, Gulf News, November 25). At last, one of the major countries in the region is breaking away from the ‘school as exam factory’ and are moving away from the student as ‘data output’ model, which has dominated the last twenty years. Internationally, this has been a period of ‘fake education’ in which so-called ‘standards’ have been used as an easy way to score points by national and international politicians - most of whom neither understood nor cared to try to understand how children developed as learners.
With positive media behind the new proposed policy, there is hope that across the region, government funding will be provided and focused to make teaching an esteemed, well salaried profession and pre-service teacher training programmes will be enriched to make teaching and learning more effective. This meets the differentiated needs of learners. The need for ‘minimum competency’ tests to measure the learning progress of students has always been a fallacy, and has caused teaching to be reduced to coaching for tests and exam performance. Now, with your coverage of the ‘no exams’ proposal, there is a hopeful sign that the third decade of the 21st century will see the re-emergence of teaching, which supports and develops learning.
From Mr Bill Boyle
Dubai
Underage driving
A 13-year-old girl, learning to drive a car, knocked down an elderly man in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, India. This is neither the first nor the last time such an instance will take place. Parents should be made accountable for this, and they are being negligent of their children. Only stringent punishment could curtail parents handing over the keys of their vehicles to their minor sons and daughters. Will Indian law makers change the rules to rein in such unruly drivers in our country?
From Mr Janaki Mahadevan
India
Ensuring safety norms in factories
The horrendous fire incident in a factory in Delhi should serve as a wake-up call for our government and relevant agencies (“Look after my family, kids: Delhi fire victim tells friend in last phone call”, Gulf News, December 9). It is one of the worst fire tragedies in Delhi after the Uphar cinema tragedy, in which more than 50 people people were trapped inside the cinema and died of asphyxiation.
The nation has had a history of such deadly fire incidences, hence this incidence must be made an opportunity to create an independent monitoring agency at the central and state government level, to carry out the safety audit of such places and streamline effective safety procedures for all types of works and facilities.
The government should set up more fire stations to reduce response time and strengthening and modernise the equipment. Industrial units should immediately ensure that they have installed adequate fire safety equipment in working conditions. Any violation in fire safety norms should be dealt with strictly.
From Mr Ramesh G. Jethwani
Bengaluru, India
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