West Bengal was never an ‘oasis’ in a wasteland of crimes against women, as a former chief minister fantasized, but Calcutta had seemed to be slightly safer for women than Delhi till recent times. Even that seems to be changing rapidly for the worse. Two features of the rape that took place in a car in the late evening a couple of days ago are especially striking. There was a smoothness about the whole operation that argues practice, including the picking up of the young man who ultimately drove the car. It could imply earlier crimes — if these have taken place they have not been reported — or, ominously, the anticipation of crime. The second noticeable feature relates to the Park Street rape case in February that became the talking point for the city. Those criminals were caught. Yet, far from having deterred the driver accused of rape in the latest incident, the Park Street case seems to have helped him determine his method. There is a sinister quality in the way both women were picked up at busy spots, Park Street and the Exide crossing, and the clever way in which their particular vulnerabilities were exploited — in the last case, the woman did not know her way about the city. Why, in spite of police action, was there a copycat crime so soon?

Before addressing this question, two heartening features should be mentioned. Some women at least are speaking up; they are refusing to be cowed by social shrinking and awkward circumstances. In the last case, moreover, police action was exemplary after the complaint was made. What remains a problem is the lack of policing on the roads; regular patrols could have spotted the violence in the car. The lack of adequate personnel has long been touted to excuse the failure of patrols, but how can that be an acceptable reason for years on end? As a recent tragic incident demonstrated, there are thousands of young people queueing up to work for the police; could the vacancies not have been filled or more posts argued for since the excuse of poor manpower was first made?

To go back to the first question: why is a crime being repeated even after there is reason for deterrence? Either the deterrence is not being perceived as strong enough — people expect that the alleged criminals will get off in spite of being arrested — or it is too rare a spectacle. More likely it is a combination of both, because the long years of nurturing of criminality by politicians have given criminals a sense of immunity. Added to the general predilection for the violent oppression and humiliation of women that continues unchanged in the state, this produces a dangerous environment. The only corrective would be a policy of zero tolerance, including penalties for police personnel who fall down on the job and punishment for politicians who try to free criminals. But that may take a while.