The emboldened criminal elements are the unmistakable signs of the absence of the state. The state, in this case, is either too weak or simply unwilling to act against the criminals, not the least because many of them enjoy strong political connections. Otherwise it boggles the mind how someone can just disappear from the heart of the capital, in a broad daylight. Even more astonishing is the fact that a full year after she went missing, there is still no trace of her.
This is the case of Chorimaiya Maharjan, the mother of three from Kathmandu, who hasn’t been spotted since Feb 28, 2012. Despite relentless campaigning by her daughters, including sit-ins, protests, meetings with high-level government and police officials, including the prime minister, their mother is nowhere to be found. The chief suspect behind the disappearance is believed to have deep connections with the sitting home minister, whom the daughters have publicly accused of dragging feet in Chorimaiya’s case. But all that the tireless daughters have got in return are empty assurances that all is being done to locate their mother, and since the case is ‘sensitive’, more cannot be disclosed.
Chorimaiya’s is a test case. If her family has not been able to locate her despite a year spent running from pillar to post, knocking every door, using every available platform, including Occupy Baluwatar, where is the hope for justice for an ordinary Nepali who is not in a position to pull such strings? The political parties, the permanent establishment and the law enforcement agencies have all found it convenient to blame the prolonged transition for their failings. Another handy and much maligned excuse of the law enforcers is that investigations take time, and it is unwise to force their hand. This attempt to mask incompetence and entrenched corruption under the veil of political transition and due process is deeply problematic for a democratic society.
Any attempt to brush cases like Chorimaiya’s under the rug will invite more backlash.
But while the police have failed to uphold the rule of law and to bring justice to common people, they have not been short on harebrained schemes to try to impose law and order. The police’s latest attempt to discipline the ‘hooligans’ (defined as all those youngsters wearing their hair long and sporting studs and earrings) by ignominiously cutting their hair in public, and listing them as likely suspects in future crimes, is no more than a cheap publicity stunt to divert the public attention. If the authorities were serious about maintaining law and order, they would employ the resources at their disposal to get to the bottom of cases like Chorimaiya, rather than make themselves the butt of endless jokes by picking on innocents.
Past attempts to brush cases like Chorimaiya’s under the rug have not succeeded, and nor will they in the future. It is important that justice be done in such test cases to reassure the public that their lives and properties are safe, and not less importantly, to restore the fast-eroding credibility of law enforcers. We would also like to know: Where indeed is Chhorimaiya?
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