by Deepa BHOOKHUN

Every time I hear about the equivocations of the police regarding which laws to apply to the illegal demonstrators of the 9th and 10th of April, I shudder because there?s this image that keeps coming to mind. I?ll share it with you so you can shudder too.

I see a few men in blue sitting around a table, drinking coffee and discussing the case they have been assigned to (OK! maybe I watch too much TV) and then one of them asks his closest pal, ?so what do you think we should do? PoTA? PGA? CC?? (For the uninitiated, PoTA is for Prevention of Terrorism Act, PGA is for Public Gathering Act and CC is for Criminal Code.) The friend in question is busy munching on a cereal bar and he shrugs. ?Don?t know. What do you feel like doing?? And poor unsure-of-himself guy number one says, ?I think PoTA is a good idea. And it hasn?t been used before!? Then a third person gets involved and says, ?Yeah, try PoTA.?

So that?s how it was decided to arrest Iqbal Ghani under the provisions of the PoTA. Like I said it?s all in my head. The truth is probably ? and hopefully ? as far-fetched from the results of my over-active imagination as saying? for instance that Shilpa Shetty enjoyed Richard Gere?s kiss?

Anyhow. It is not a laughing matter ? I told you ? I shudder every time I think about this. You know why? Because after incidents that have traumatised this nation like it has rarely been traumatised before, after a day of terror where madness had gotten hold of people and they threatened our peace, we need to see and feel a confident, competent and firm police force. We need to believe that institutions still work the way they should, we need to trust.

Let me refresh your memory. Ghani is arrested under PoTA. Mr Paul Berenger says PoTA is wrong in this case - I do not know what the hell he knows about this, but hey, it?s a free country. Berenger?s wise words are feebly echoed by Bodha of the MSM. The whole matter is discussed in the press. No big deal.

But since then, the police and the DPP?s office are showing signs that they are not too sure anymore. To such an extent that they do not even know what to do with one Mr Raffick Goolfee. I mean, should they treat Goolfee like the outlaw that he is or pay respect to the fact that he has a big mouth and regularly opens it?

Mr Chooramun, in the meantime, is still able to enjoy the same rights law-abiding citizens like you and I enjoy.

And the coffee image comes back.

The Police cannot give this impression that they are not sure what to do, that the decisions they make are done in a haphazard manner.

But is anybody home?