Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Horrifying

I join thousands in mourning the death of the 23-year-old woman, allegedly raped after being pushed out of the Ernakulam-Shoranur passenger. As a woman of the same age, I can understand what her family must be going through. Each time such a devastating incident occurs, the media go after the news regardless of the impact on the family. After a few days, they forget the incident and move on.

Why should we women wait for another incident to take action? In this era of empowerment, the least a girl should know is to defend herself. Are one or two hours of self-defence classes a week too much to ask for? But, yes, providing night vigilance and a guard in each railway compartment is welcome.

K. Teenu Josia,

New Delhi

Despite the technological advance, no security device other than the old “chain system” is available on trains. The criminals, therefore, believe that they can easily escape after committing crimes on trains. They also make use of the indifference and passivity of the passengers. The Railways can install an emergency switch in every compartment, which can alert the police. It is a low-cost security measure which the authorities can implement, besides assigning more policemen on trains.

Sajeer Fazil,

Bangalore

Declaring a hartal as a tribute to the victim or providing financial assistance to the family is no remedy. Stringent action should be taken against the culprit as is done in the Gulf countries. Efforts should be made to increase protection on public transport so that such incidents do not recur.

T.S. Binu,

Mangalore

How safe are we in the midst of a community that has forgotten to react and become so selfish that it ignores a woman in distress? Are we so inhuman that we can't pull the alarm chain even after seeing a woman pushed out of a running train? Why didn't even one person on the passenger train react when he realised that something unusual had happened?

Each one of us should feel shameful and responsible for the tragic incident. Shame on you and me because the young woman would have lived had we not forgotten to react and respond.

Anitha Santhosh,

Palakkad

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