The recent stand-off with China along the LAC and the hardship the citizens endured due to the lockdown are reminders that merely rallying around a leader is not enough to push back an intruder or withstand such travails. However, it seems nothing has changed for anti-social elements and organised criminals who challenge the might of the state. Eight policemen, including a senior officer leading them, getting slaughtered in Kanpur showed that it was no longer possible to sustain the claim that jungle raj had ended in UP. The dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey had over 60 cases of heinous crimes and yet he was not convicted even once while he was alive is a testimony of his clout within the police, and a solid indicator of the political patronage he enjoyed. Criminals like Dubey have moles everywhere. Needless to say, the entire police machinery in the country needs a thorough revamping and overhauling — lock, stock and barrel.

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