The trial court’s judgment in the most heinous rape and murder of Asifa, the eight years old innocent girl, is being widely welcomed all over the country. This young girl child was abducted, drugged, gang raped in a temple and mercilessly murdered. There is an impression that the punishment is inadequate and the perpetrators should have been sentenced to death. Yet this verdict would set an example for trial of increasing number of crimes against innocent girls. The Crime Bureau reports that there were 10854 such crimes in 2015 which went up to 19,765 in 2016, an increase of 85 per cent in just one year.
The most disturbing factor in this case was the condemnable politicisation and communalisation of the crime. The communal elements of the most prominent communal party of the country most brazenly whipped up communal sentiments, organised demonstrations and did their best to derail the course of investigation and justice. Unfortunately, for a sizeable number of people a crime is not just a crime; it is a Hindu crime or a non-Hindu crime. The fundamental principles of every religion, universal values and the constitutional spirit demand that we should view a crime as a crime and it should be dealt with in that way.
The Holy Quran exhorts Believers: Be upholders of justice and bearers of witnesses to truth for the sake of Allah, even though it may be against yourself or against your parents and kinsmen or the rich or the poor, for Allah is more concerned with their well being than you are. Do not, then, follow your desire lest you keep away from justice. If you twist or turn away from (the truth) know that Allah is well aware of all that you do (4: 135). This should be the right attitude of not only Muslims but all human beings while dealing with social or other problems of life. Unfortunately, we find a grave erosion of such basic requirements of piety and good conduct in our materialistic society. The need of the hour is joining hands and all out efforts to restore the moral health of Indian society.
Prejudice, violence, lawlessness, and miscarriage of justice will destroy our society. Devaluation of modesty, chastity, and respect for women and kindness to fellow human beings has led to sexual crimes. Even our small children are not safe. During the past week several gruesome cases of rapes and murders of minor girls, even two years old ones, have been reported from Aligarh, Kanpur, Jabalpur and some other places. Only law cannot solve these problems. A moral and ethical approach must be adopted, cleansing of minds, detoxification of communalised and inhumanised minds must be undertaken urgently otherwise we will descend into a hell of immorality, crimes, conflicts, chaos and disintegration of society.