No headway yet

A week after the brutal rape and murder of 7-year old Zainab in Kasur, there is no suggestion that police are any closer to apprehending the culprit. This is despite the fact that at least four separate agencies are directly involved in the investigation. It is of course questionable whether it is wise to divide up an investigation in this fashion with each body apparently conducting its own probe. In addition, we also have attempts by the JIT set up after the murder to uncover the facts. The DNA testing done of 120 people in the area has yielded no positive matches. If anything, we are now further away from solving this case. Certainly a great deal of confusion and chaos appears to surround it. Various pieces of CCTV footage have been released at various points, one at least apparently showing a man quite different to the person spotted in the other pieces of hazy film.The initial sketch released by the police led to the arrest of one person in Lahore, although it is too early to say if he is indeed the perpetrator. There is also some contradictory evidence, with CCTV footage indicating Zainab following the man, which would imply that she knew him. But the police also seem to believe that the perpetrator was a serial killer who had been involved in the murders of at least eight other girls. All of this confusion is creating the impression of an investigation that is fundamentally flawed in some way. The Supreme Court has now summoned the Joint Investigation team to appear before it – although there is no reason to believe progress will be made by then.

Zainab’s case has highlighted issues of police training and social education, along with selective outrage and the inevitable politicisation of public grief. Investigating such cases requires sensitivity. Previous rape cases have shown us that victim-blaming is rife and that the authorities often do not believe the accuser. Rape kits are not available at all police stations and women police officers are still relatively scarce. It is telling that amid all the committees formed to investigate the case, there isn’t a single one to deal with the larger issue of rape investigations. Greater sensitivity is needed in the media too, much of which has sensationalised Zainab’s case with its usual thoughtlessness – going to the extent of interviewing young children without any regard to their vulnerability. On the question of children, we need a societal consensus to better protect them from predators. Such education needs to be imparted to them not just from parents but at the school level as well, an issue that has faced hurdles in the past as well.