Shah's murder

Jamim Shah´s cold-blooded murder in broad daylight has left the capital city thoroughly shaken. This incident has taken a further toll on people´s confidence in the security situation in the country. If it is possible to shoot and kill Shah, chairman of the Channel Nepal media house, on one of the busiest roads and in the presence of heavy security, why should people, for any reason, feel secure about their lives? When Shah was shot dead at Lazimpat on Sunday more than 500 security personnel were present along the Lainchaur-Shital Niwas road. Security along that road was beefed up since high-profile dignitaries were traveling along it to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Vice-President Paramananda Jha at Shital Niwas. Eyewitnesses even said that some policemen looked on as an assassin pumped bullets into Shah, but did not take any action. What all this mean is that any dignitary could have been shot dead along that road on that Sunday afternoon.



Police are yet to find a lead in Shah´s murder. Minister for State for Home Muhammad Rijban Ansari, speaking at a program in the capital on Monday, said that the police are close to arresting the culprits involved in the murder. That is an irresponsible statement aimed at offering false assurances, something no one is expecting or asking for. Police are still clueless about the murder though they have widened their investigations and have done some preliminary guesswork about who could be behind it. Citizens need real action on this case and only the arrest of the culprits will help restore public confidence.



Jamim Shah´s murder is not the only killing that has shaken public confidence in the security situation in the country. It is, actually, one in a series of killings and abductions that have taken place across the country in the last few weeks and the police are yet to make any headway in nabbing any of the crooks. The home administration must expedite investigations into past cases and also put in place a new security plan that will bring tangible improvements to the security situation. However, the police alone cannot improve things since all killings, abductions and other criminal activities are taking place in a society that is trying to struggle free from a political context of violence. The political parties, therefore, need to contribute their bit also to address the law and order situation. Only if the home administration, political parties, civil society and practically all the citizenry play their parts will things improve. Let us all take on this responsibility.

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