Editorial
Crackdown on crime
A more credible explanation needed
The sudden intensification of the drive against crime which saw the law enforcers arresting several hundred persons around the country in two days would normally have been seen as a special effort to check the slide in law and order. But reports say that many of those arrested are workers and activists of major political parties. And that raises a host of questions and queries about the move ostensibly undertaken to haul up criminals against whom warrants of arrest and charges lay.
The situation calls for a close look at the government decision to crack down on criminals which was taken at a high-powered meeting -- a clear indication of the decision being fully endorsed by those at the helm. They must have been convinced that the noose of the law had to be tightened, but the tally of crimes that is being mentioned had been there for quite a length of time and one believes if timely action had been taken there would not have been any need for a countrywide drive leading to so many arrests.
There are quite a few things to consider before we can place the crackdown in the right perspective. The drive was launched 17 days after the ban on indoor politics had been lifted and the government is now busy trying to ensure the participation of all the political parties, particularly the major ones, in the dialogue to pave the way for a free and fair election. So, caution and discretion were in order and the need was to avoid anything that might be viewed negatively by the political parties. The timing of the drive has therefore been hardly propitious; in fact, it might not be an overstatement to say it sounds anachronistic to the government's otherwise professed aim to facilitate political dialogues by all means through ensuring participation of the two major political parties.
The modus operandi of the law enforcers conducting the anti-crime drive is also not above question. First, mass arrests, as we have always pointed out ran counter to the spirit of the rule of law, fair play and whatever decent things we could talk about. No one contests the necessity for severe action against hardened criminals but the approach should not even unwittingly lead to any panicky situation for the common people.
The government has claimed in a press handout that the law enforcers are chasing the hardened criminals only. But judging by reports, such claims need to be substantiated through a more credible explanation in the public domain.
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