Crime and Punishment

Crime and punishment are as old as human civilization and in this context Dostovesky magnum opus in the same name is worth rembering. During the course of history enormous numbers of crimes have been perpetrated and the law in different forms of governments have been created to deal with the same. Still crime is going unabated. Any crime infested society can barely remain stable and without stability, there cannot be any economic growth and development.

Of late, the crimes in India and also in Odisha are on increase with different forms and new modus operandi. This has disturbed the balance in society, taken away sleep from the eyes of the police and hope in the minds of the government. The common man is at the mercy of the hooligans and the businesses are pulling down the shutters in fear. Sometimes miscreants are blocking the roads and it is frustrating for students and office goers and common man. The appearance of mass scale digitization has led to cyber frauds that puts many people on alert and many on the road. Latest being sex related crimes by burning girls or throwing acids on their face. These are not the reflection of civilized society and speaks of absence of law and order or taking the lacuna in the system. The hands of law has been long but the culprits move openly, challenging the system or making a mockery of the system. It is said justice delayed is justice denied and the strength of the case loses its importance after a long time and the miscreants go scot free. Of late the arrival of various gangs in the scene has made the situation worse and public life a casualty. The money collected as Dadabati has created tremors in the hearts of the business clan who fear to open their shop. Can civic life enjoy a state of idyllic felicity in a jungle like violent situation. The initiatives taken by the Government in the states is praise worthy. But still they are not full proof system to stem the rot. The fragile peace arising out of crime appeared to be threatened and a comprehensive full proof mechanism with an iron will is needed to surmount these problems.

The problem can be improved with contribution by all members of society. The states must create adequate employment. There has to be an equidistribution in the system. Government has to take immediate measures to rehabilitate those who lost their near and dear ones because of covid-19. Law has to be enforced in the right earnest. Judiciary has to go for demonstrative punishment and police strong action. The whistle blower policy has to be made more effective by keeping the name of the informer secret. There should be adequate police Bandobast with patrolling at regular intervals. Training of police personnel to make them efficient to curb such explosive situation and preempting any law and order position would go long way in arresting such crimes.

Proper equipments must be provided to the police with intelligence network doing their job 24× 7.Ultimately a healthy society would bring a healthy culture with full participation of all the stake holders.