[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t last, the case of the nine accused for involving in the serial bomb blasts at Dimapur’s railway station and adjacent Hong Kong market in 2004, are going to be examined on September 16 this year after having been deferred from August 19. It is indeed a sad commentary on our judicial system that such a heinous crime has taken nine years for the courts to act and take a stern action.It may be noted that four illegal Bangladeshi immigrants got life imprisonment after they raped a Naga woman, after almost a year. So what took the powers that be to deal with the case of bomb blasts such a long time?
It may also be noted that in both cases it is people of the Muslim community who have been involved in such violent and heinous crimes. Their good luck is that Nagas did not react violently which legally we cannot propagate but such people must be forewarned that they should not take our tolerance as a sign of weakness.
People of this particular community come wherever they do but are inclined towards negative activities unlike those who come from other States to earn their livelihoods. Enough is enough.
What is even more disappointing is that the judiciary has been lackadaisical in dealing with such serious crimes. This leads people to wonder what were the reasons behind the sluggish procedure of the State’s prosecution authority? Are certain vested interests involved? And with financial motivation? At this stage nothing can be ruled out but what is openly apparent is that something is wrong in the legal system prevalent in our State.
This is not to disparage the judiciary which throughout the country has been suffering, nay hampered, by lakhs and lakhs backlog of pending cases. The Kohima branch of the Gauhati High Court is fortunate that it has much less pending cases and so the delay in meting justice and deterrent punishment to the offenders who think they blow up anything anywhere, and that too not in their land, is still not fully understandable.
The Supreme Court of India has questioned the Central Government on steps it intends to take to bar people charged with heinous crimes or being found guilty by a commission of inquiry from becoming law makers and given six weeks for a reply.
The aim of the Supreme Court is to bring clean elections. Justices R.M. Lodha and Madan B. Lakar have said that that they intend that the process will not misused. This may not seem relevant in the context of the bomb blasts at Dimapur. But the involvement of men of political and financial influence behind the episode cannot be entirely ruled out. Else, how can ordinary people just go and create havoc amongst normal citizens if they are not operating under the shadow of the high and mighty.
As such, there is more to all this than meets the eye and also because the case has taken so long to be taken up. Another shortcoming in our way of life is that almost everything seems to be dictated by outside forces while we seem to be contented to carry on as if there is no lurking menace or danger just around the corner.
In any case, this particular case must be expedited and necessary action as per the law be taken as a warning to others who might be under the illusion that Nagaland can be had for a small price.
