Let us first look into the painful incident from the politics-crime nexus. The main hand behind the kidnappings and possibly the murders, Meraj Ahmad Shai alias Adarsha, used to walk freely despite a history of grave crimes, including over half a dozen murders, simply because of political patronage. When he was arrested in June, 2008, there was tremendous political pressure leading to his subsequent release. Had the law been allowed to take its course then, many precious and innocent lives would not have been cut short in vain.
The criminal-police nexus is another aspect of this gross episode that deserves a thorough probe. Shai has claimed that he regularly received information about the police from police staffers. If those entrusted with the responsibility of protecting people are themselves involved in such heinous activities, whom should the people turn to? They will have no recourse other than taking the law into their own hands and that is nothing but a sure recipe for tearing apart whatever harmony prevails in the society now. True, not all policemen are as bad as they are made out to be. But when efforts are not taken to weed out the wheat from the chaff, people will point fingers at the entire institution. This is just one more example to remind us that Nepal Police is in need of urgent and pressing reforms.
Without any further delay, the government must get down to arresting Shai’s other accomplishes. Besides, it must also bring to book all those individuals who were responsible for Shai’s release a couple of years back for they are also equally responsible for what he has done since then. Though nothing can heal the wounds of the aggrieved families, they must be provided necessary counseling and compensation.
Finally, it is absolutely necessary that we – including the people and the media – do not forget this incident in haste as it often happens in our country. This is not an isolated incident. That kidnappings, murders and other crimes have started taking place with such unprecedented regularity is a clear pointer that they are symptomatic of larger ills that have started creeping into our society. We must regularly keep a track of the case, and continue seeking answers on what the state has been doing to address the root cause of the problem.
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