Stop thinking “Why get into hassles?”

Since the Delhi rape case, I have attended a couple of coffee meeting with people from different backgrounds, put some hundreds of tweets on #MakeDelhiSafe. Amidst the series of incidents that took place on 16th Dec, one most striking thing that hit me was that the girl and her friend were lying on the road for more than a couple of minutes and the crowd around just stared, either not knowing what to do or not willing to take the necessary step. It’s a simple funda amongst us Indians “Do logo ki ladai mein hamesha teesra pista hai” (In a quarrel of two, the third one suffers) or in most cases we don’t want to engage in any matters relating to the police or law thinking “Why get into a hassle?”

Moving another step forward, sometimes we just don’t know what to do and how to take it up. So here’s a very basic compilations of things to do and keep in mind if you are witnessing a crime:

What should you do if you witness a crime?

If you are witnessing a crime, the first thing to do is to get out of harm’s way and hide yourself. You must then:

• Immediately call 100. If you know the phone numbers of your local police station call them as well and ask them to come immediately.
• Make a mental note of what the criminal or criminals look like and details of what they are wearing.
• Pay close attention to all the events that take place. What the criminals did, what they said and so on
• If the police do not come in time and the criminals have left, make sure not to touch anything. Important evidence may have been left behind which you may destroy by touching it
• If there is a victim who is hurt or in distress, call an ambulance and help as much as you can
• Once the police arrive, tell them in detail all that you witnessed and file your First Information Report (FIR)
• Make sure the police officer signs and stamps your FIR and gives you a copy free of cost

Do you have to go if the police ask you to come to the station?

If the police want to question you about a crime that you might be witness to or are suspected having a part in then, they must summon you to the police station in writing. If you are simply walking down the road or are at home, having committed no offence then the police cannot ask you to come with them without stating a solid reason and you are within your rights to refuse to go with them. Women or children below 15 can only be questioned by the police in their homes. They can never be summoned or forced to go to a police station.

I agree that that there are many systemic problems that might come in our way. But as ‘US’, ‘we’ need to simply know and try to do what is in our limits. Least we can do is let not a crime go unnoticed and make sure there is immediate help and reporting. Amongst all the multitude of things we need to do to make our cities safe, becoming ‘active citizens is essentially at the top-of-the-list.

PS: Thanks to Jaagore for this piece of information

I need sane politicians, who talk logic !!

Almost a fortnight since the brutal Gang Rape incident, the issue has been raped by the public, media, politicians, bureaucrats, celebrities and almost every living person in this country. It was like a war zone, multiple things happening in different corners- protests, innocents being lathi-charged, a constable losing his life, petitions, public meeting, political statements, people changing their display pictures on social media, to mention a few.

Much to the fear of the critics, the hullabaloo had simmered down. It was bound to. I won’t say that we are back to square one. We have definitely drifted to the next square. Identifying the problem is the first step in any process and we saw evidence of it in the public outrage, which made me believe that the coming generation will see a better India.

Until today, when I heard a statement by one of our wise politicians that “Women will be punished like Sita if they cross limits” followed soon by golden words from an RSS chief that “Rapes happen in India, not Bharat”. This sounded like a sequel to the Khaps blaming ‘chowmein’ for the rapes. And before that the Bombay High Court  stating that a wife should be like Goddess Sita who followed everything her husband said.

By now so many of our politicians/ bureaucrats have broken the sanity barrier; its almost impossible to keep track. At a time when we need serious political and social action, we are bombarded with such shockingly regressive statements, which trigger only one response “MORONS”. I can still give them a benefit of doubt for delayed decisions, fake promises, but making such nonsensical statements in the backdrop of such serious concern has convinced me that as much as we need serious rape laws, anti-corruption bill, we need politicians with some ‘Common Sense’.

I need politicians who can tell me that strict action would be implemented than advice me not to wear short skirts, and not to tread out in my own city late night. I need them to come out in public and assure them that they share their sentiments than tell us how we should take heed from an ancient character epitomized in our scriptures. And above all, I need them to optimally use their grey matter before making such insane statements in public.

Isn’t this the least this country deserves? To have leaders who talk logic and sense ? (@samta09)