No witness protection program

When it comes to witnesses, very few people in the country take an initiative, and those who do often end up paying with their lives. A criminal named Satish Kumar is on the run after escaping from jail. He has 30 cases of murders and attempted murders on him. He has killed two witnesses who had testified against him in the past and he is out to kill more. The news report on TV said that he has killed two brothers for testifying against him and now that he has escaped, the third brother too is living under constant fear.

This is a reflection of the callous way our legal system works. Witnesses are anyway hard to find and when they come forward the police is unable to protect them. We should have a comprehensive witness protection program in the country if we really want people to come forward and stick out their necks. Things like relocation, identity change and monetary compensation should be integral parts of the program, and even the families should be eligible for total protection.

Genuine witnesses are an invaluable asset and it is the duty of the state to protect them. They spend crores of rupees (the exchequer’s money, of course) on the security of good-for-nothing politicians and when it comes to protecting people who want to help the law, there is a shortage of funds.

I think in this regard our legal system is either totally screwed up, or the implementers have no idea how to run it. People are not even ready to lodge the regular complaints to avoid police harassment. If you file a complaint against a criminal, before you know it, you may yourself end up either the next victim of the criminal, or the victim of the police.