Plight of Maharjan family

JUL 13 -

Public perception of the police and the law and order situation is determined largely by high profile cases which routinely become symbolic. The case of Chhori Maiya Maharjan of Jaisideval has become one of them. Four months after the 51-year-old mother of two daughters went missing, the investigation conducted by the Metropolitan Police has led nowhere and her whereabouts remain unknown. Together with the yet unsolved assassination of Supreme Court Justice Rana Bahadur Bam who was shot dead in broad daylight, Maharjan’s disappearance has damaged public trust in the police’s ability to protect the citizens. In order to restore public confidence and increase trust in the institution, the police should reveal the progress being made in the investigations. The police, as is well known, have domestic as well as international resources at their disposal. In today’s globalised world, crime often takes an international characte r. In many cases, cooperation between Nepal and Indian police has led to cross-border arrests. Therefore, the police should not hesitate to seek international expertise if necessary. Until the cases are solved, it must also periodically inform the public and the victims’ families of the progress made in its investigations. 

That, unfortunately, is not what the police are doing. On Wednesday, the Maharjan family said that influential police officers were playing hide-and-seek with them. Their appointment with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rabindra Pratap Shah was cancelled last week. Instead, the police arranged a meeting with a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and also the chief of the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, Jay Bahadur Chand. The police eventually cancelled this appointment as well. The family was also told that the IGP does not look into individual cases. For a case that has generated so much public anxiety in the law and order situation, the smart thing to do would have been to understand the gravity of the situation and reassure the family. Not only the IGP, the SSP too didn’t keep his appointment with the Maharjan family. No wonder then that Maharjan’s family charges the police of inaction, and claims that the inaction is deliberate. Maharjan’s daught er Sudha claims that there are powerful politicians protecting the perpetrators behind her mother’s abduction, and that is why the police are dragging their feet.

The police must respond to these charges and make public the links, if any, between the perpetrators and the protection they are allegedly receiving. In recent days, the police have made headlines by hyping up police activity that have no impact on public security, such as the night raids to capture thugs and dons that yielded little, if anything. It is also worth remembering the assurance the Maharjan family received from Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. On April 15, he pledged to press the police to carry out a rigorous investigation. Perhaps the PM needs to remind his Home Minister and the police chiefs that the public is waiting for answers in both the Chhori Maiya and Justice Bam cases. The longer these cases drag on, the greater will be the sense of insecurity.

 

Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/07/13/editorial/plight-of-maharjan-family/357034/