Last week a person who allegedly raped a child in Nithari was seized by an incensed mob and beaten unconscious. The Noida police were present but did not prevent the merciless beating. Only when the mob attempted to burn the victim did the police intervene and take him away, unconscious, to the police station. From there he was tardily taken to the district hospital – an hour away, even though medical facilities were available in the vicinity. Due to delayed treatment, the victim died. Meanwhile the mob surrounded the police station and demanded that the victim be handed over. The mob dispersed only when the police told them that the victim had died. Did the police want the victim to die?
Next day, the police filed a case of culpable homicide against 500 people. Time alone will tell if the case was filed merely as a ritual or if genuine investigation and punishment really will follow. The fact is that, with impunity, the mob took the law into its own hands while the police watched. The police role in the Nithari serial murders had destroyed its authority to act.