Editor,
The child prostitution racket, which shocked and troubled every sane mind with the involvement of even sophisticated high-profile or ‘naam wala’ people – a senior doctor, an engineer, a politician and even a deputy superintendent of police – is currently making the headlines after the APPSC fiasco, job scams/paper leakage and illegal job appointments.
The troubling aspect of these incidents in our state is that none of the opposition’s leaders, legislators, pressure group leaders, or leaders of CBOs had the courage to inquire about these felonies and pressure the government to conduct a thorough investigation.
Under the direction of the ICR SP, the Itanagar police have done an excellent job of busting the child trafficking and prostitution ring and rescuing the minor girls. Ideally, more persons will be taken into custody in the coming days, since the accused’s comments make it clear that this sex racket has been operating in the ICR for at least two years.
However, the law must punish all offenders equally, and the authorities must make sure that the ‘pick and choose’ approach is not used when dealing with the lawbreakers.
In our state, when local officers are appointed as team leaders, the investigation of such a horrific and public case tends to deteriorate (with due respect to our local officers). Since we are the least populous tribal state, we are all connected, either directly or indirectly, particularly in Tani tribes/clans, where we may link our family ancestry to one another in a minute.
‘Nemo judex in causa sua’, or no one being a judge in his own cause, is a natural justice principle that we often transgress by designating our local officers as the head of the inquiry team. To put it another way, no one is qualified to judge what they are biased towards. For the sake of an unbiased investigation and equitable justice for all, cases of this nature should be led by officers from the AGMUT cadre wherever feasible, or an officer of IPS rank.
Furthermore, in order to guarantee that everyone convicted is treated fairly and no one is exempted due to their political support or wealthy upbringing, our leaders, NGOs, pressure groups, and CBOs must work together.
To combat crimes of this kind, the society as a whole must unite and raise awareness among our kids, young people, and family members.
Yiri Kamcham
Kamcham,
Lower Siang