I would like to begin by saying a few words about stupidity in Nepal.

Now before I start, let me make it positively clear that all Nepalese people are not in effect stupider than other people. We have a growing middle class, private colleges, multinational companies and imported cars. We have also won ‘CNN Heroes’ back to back; the only country to do so. And recently we also had a first ever Nepali national registered in the 2013 Forbes Billionaire’s List. You don’t get all that by being stupid. Even so, you do sometimes wonder.

Consider this. It would be hard to imagine a more evil piece of work than the case of Sita Rai. After years of vicious, random abuse at the hands of her foreign employers, Sita Rai returned home with her savings only to be robbed at the airport by Nepali immigration officials and repeatedly raped for two days by a Nepali police constable. As the policeman sent her off in a ‘night’ bus the next day, he gave her a thousand rupee note and asked her to look him up the next time she was in town. Then he threatened to kill her if she told anyone of the incident. A month later, Sita Rai learnt she was pregnant with his child. The constable was arrested soon after and confessed his guilt freely. But authorities haven’t been able to trace the two Nepali immigration officials. As of the time of this article going to print, the immigration officials are still ‘absconding’.

Something tells me I shouldn’t trust the police anymore.

Now it seems evident from this, if nothing else, that not having a fast track system for rape cases and subsequently, the capital punishment for rapists, is madness. Of course, if you’re one of ‘those’ rights’ activists, you could argue that convicted rapists should be allowed to appeal endlessly on light-hearted procedures, for they are after all, human. Whatever the argument, one thing is certain and that there is an awful lot of stupidity about it. The inconvenient side of this argument is that it is relatively easy to prey on people who have lost the power of thought. Unfortunately for us, I don’t believe there is a politician (yet) in Nepal of any moral standing who would stand up to such a weight of feeling. There used to be a time when politicians changed the public’s opinion. Now they just respond to it, which is unfortunate because these things are not unquestionable.

This is all a rather depressing thought; so let’s finish by mentioning my favourite police story at the moment – namely, the Inspector General of Police who responded by saying, ‘Whose case are you referring to?’ to a message on his cell phone that read – ‘Dear sir, please ensure justice for the victim who was robbed by TIA immigration officials and raped by a police constable’. I’m sure there is a moral in this somewhere, and I will let you know as soon as it occurs to me.

But if you will excuse me now, I’m going to stock up on ammo for the gun I inherited from my grandfather, in case anyone decides to rob my house tonight. Something tells me I shouldn’t trust the police anymore! Something tells me I shouldn’t  trust  the police anymore.