AERIAL VIEW
There are various views on the whole issue: 1. The Goa Police, which has been dragging its feet on several cases, has proved once again that if given a free hand it can match any police force in the country. 2. The society today is so infatuated to the male child that the female child has no value and a mother, sometimes, is taunted and tortured so much she is ready to such an heinous crime. 3. How can we overcome this dilemma? Why is girl child so unwanted despite the literate India and the government calling for gender equality.
Suraj Nandrekar
Editor, Goemkarponn
It was a typical Bollywood style drama this weekend with a one-month old baby being stolen by another woman, who is mother of four daughters. However, thanks to the alert Goa Police team which nabbed the culprit with 24 hours of committing the crime.
There are various views on the whole issue: 1. The Goa Police, which has been dragging its feet on several cases, has proved once again that if given a free hand it can match any police force in the country. 2. The society today is so infatuated to the male child that the female child has no value and a mother, sometimes, is taunted and tortured so much she is ready to such an heinous crime. 3. How can we overcome this dilemma? Why is girl child so unwanted despite the literate India and the government calling for gender equality.
Starting with point one, the government has to give the Goa Police a free hand to crack the cases, which has been proved by the force several times. However, whenever there is any political figure involved they develop cold fee, why?
Be it the case involving rape case by a politician, illegal mining scam, the Swapnil Walke murder etc etc.
The Crime branch team led by PI Dattaguru Sawant did a splendid job arresting the accused in Swapnil Walke with hours. But soon the political class took over and replaced Dattaguru. Despite clear evidence and arrest, the case has been deviated, which proves there is a definite political pressure.
Kudos to Goa Police team arresting the accused in one month old baby boy kidnapping case. The team worked tirelessly for 24 hours on a stretch to nab the accused.
Now coming to Vishranti Gawas, who is accused in the case, she committed the crime owing to society’s pressure of not have a baby boy.
In a country where boys remain prized and having a daughter is considered by many to be a curse, they were lucky. Many are not so fortunate. India has banned pre-natal scanning to determine the sex of a baby and made aborting a child as a result of such a scan punishable with five years in prison. Poster campaigns urge Indians to ‘save the girl child’.
Despite every effort to change perceptions, many Indians and Goans in particular simply do not want daughters, who are still seen as a financial burden because of the matrimonial dowry demanded by a groom’s family.
People don’t want girls, because they have to worry about their safety and security and they have to pay to get them married off. People say bringing up a daughter is like watering a neighbour’s plant.
In Vishranti’s case though she is wrong in committing the crime by stealing someone else’s child, judiciary will also have to look at the other side of the story.
Was she socially stigmatised? Did her family torture her for delivering four daughters? Why was she so desirous to have a baby boy?
Yes, she has to be punished for the crime she committed but it has to be exemplary so that another Vishranti in Goa is not subjected to such stigma and force her to take such extreme step.