The furtive glance, hollowed cheeks and the worry-lines etched deep on the brows tells a story more vivid than the reams of paper and hundreds of hours of airtime used to narrate the gory story of the sensational fake encounter that had gripped the state in its wake six years back. Herojit’s confession of killing an unarmed man in cold blood in broad daylight in the middle of the most congested market in the state has shook the collective conscience of the nation- and the second time around, the reverberations had spread wider and repercussions are bound to be severe. That he admitted to shooting the arrested suspect according to his officer’s order who verbally assured him of immunity, citing that the situation has already been made known to the Chief Minister and the top police official has added an ominous twist to the sordid incident. And amidst the increasing social discussions and unconfirmed reports, Rabina’s sad story has been sidelined.
While some section of the public might assume the increasing media attention to the issue as excessive or repetitive-even obsessive, it must be said that experience and expectation necessitates it, and the nature of the crime makes it even more so. This single incident exemplifies the modus operandi of the state government- that of playing the jury, judge and the executioner, paying scant regard to the established procedures. Perhaps the public has been inured to the excesses and arm-twisting methods of the state and non-state actors following the natural law of self-preservation, the only other option proving to be fatalistic. But that does not mean that we should accept injustice or abandon our rational judgment to spend our lives as automatons. There is the vital need to raise the din and keep pertinent social, political or financial issues that is bound to impact the society in the limelight so that these are not sidelined or manipulated in the shadows of obscurity, especially those which has the potential of unmasking the blunders and deliberate wrongdoings by those who has been chosen by the public to look after their interests and work for their welfare as their representatives.
With the sensational disclosure gaining international prominence and providing the public a glimpse of the audacity with which the laws and conventions of a society can be manipulated to suit and conform to the convenience and profit of those who wield power and authority, the matter now will hopefully see its logical conclusion. Meanwhile, the stage has been set for one of the biggest game of finding the next sacrificial lamb. History, however, has shown all along that men’s belief of exonerating themselves from their own wrongdoing by sacrificing a hapless lamb has never really worked. The deed has been done. The informed public is biding its time to chip in with its bit to effect a change for good.
