Nobody afraid of law, it's ineffective: Om Puri

Aug 24, 2013 IANS

Kolkata, Aug 24 (IANS) Refusing to agree with certain politicians who blame the rise in crimes against women on migrants, veteran actor Om Puri Saturday pointed out that the country's legal system is "ineffective" and slow.

"I don't agree with Mr. Hegde (Congress MLA Krishna Hegde) that crime has increased because of people coming in to the city. People come into the city for work..they are essentially workers..whether they put up sandwich stalls or drive taxis...they are all workers," Om told reporters here.

"There is a misconception about Dharavi that it is a slum... of course it is a slum, but if you walk into the slum each house is like a factory... they are doing all kinds of jobs," he said here on the sidelines of a fund-raising event organised by the Tata Medical Centre and Taj Bengal.

Referring to the recent rape of a photojournalist in Mumbai, Om said: "It could be a mixed element... he could be a Maharashtrian, he could be a Punjabi, or from Uttar Pradesh. The boys who raped her could be from any community. Their names have appeared on paper.

"One is a Muslim but it is not a question of Hindu or Muslim... in every community there are elements like this."

The seasoned actor also stressed on the need to speed up justice delivery systems.

"The only thing which should happen in terms of law is to expedite these matters. I mean the Delhi girl who died... the matter is still in fast-track court. If this is the condition of the fast (track) court because it's a special case, then what will happen to the other cases," he said.

Om also said that juvenile boys who commit crimes needn't be treated differently.

"What do you mean by juvenile? He knows how to rape a woman. Is he a juvenile?"

Observing that there is no need for extra policing, Om highlighted the necessity of the government in educating people and the importance of "stern punishment".

"I think there is enough policing... they (home ministry) should wake up people, educate people and stern punishment should be there so that people are afraid of the law. Nobody is afraid of he law... it is not effective... it takes too much time," he added.