Only fast-tracking of investigation and trial in cases of crimes against women and ensuring the toughest of punishment to the convicts can provide a safe environment for females. From little girls to elderly women, no one is feeling safe in recent times as predators are on the prowl anywhere and everywhere. Weeks after the serial sex crimes in Pollachi and days after a seven-year-old girl was raped and murdered by her neighbour in Coimbatore, another shocking incident has emerged from the same Kongu belt.

In the latest, a teenage girl, reported missing, was found dead with her throat slit on a riverbed near Pollachi Saturday. The 19-year-old was studying in a college, and on that fateful day, she had left her college hostel and had planned to visit her home in Dindigul district for the weekend. She was engaged and her wedding was slated for 13 June. While some reports claimed that she was kidnapped and murdered by a relative who wanted to marry her, an FIR was registered at Gomangalam police station under section 302 (murder) of the IPC and four special teams were formed by Coimbatore Superintendent Sujith Kumar to nab the culprit. The police arrested Satish Kumar, the girl’s relative who had been in a relationship with the girl before his marriage. He claimed to have killed her as she was torturing him for more jewels and money.

As in the case of other similar crimes, this, too, would vanish from the memory of the public and the media soon, especially with election fever running high. But, it is the duty of the law enforcers and lawmakers to ensure that another crime like this does not happen. Strong determination and display of courage is needed to achieve this.