Learning of the ways in which the Mumbai police in practically all its departments continues to compromise itself, its reputation and our security, we would say – Be afraid, be very afraid.
And what we are afraid of right now is that there really is a perverted serial killer stalking the slum pockets of Colaba and picking out the innocents for sport. With victim no. 2 in the bag (in a manner of speaking), and with the Colaba police having absolutely nothing to show in terms of proper scientific investigation, what else can they do but pick up just anyone and pray that the hullabaloo created scares the killer off into another area for which they are not responsible.
For that is the crux of the problem – that every policeman, inspired by his seniors, works for his own benefit, not even the benefit of his police station, and in an area of forensics like plotting the psychographics of a serial killer, which is so dependent on shared information, the poor slum dwellers might as well walk into their shanties and batten down all doors after sunset, for all the security the police give them.
The outcry is going to grow louder and louder now and we must be on guard – both for the killer if we live in Colaba, as well as for a shock announcement from the police, claiming they have “the man”. We’ll offer you very long odds on whether he is the right one, or just a convenient scapegoat scraped out of the barrel just to mute the gathering storm of protest.