Monika’s murder has one refrain -- think before opening the front door
The murder of Monika Ghurde has exposed an obvious chink in the security system – the human angle. It isn’t about having more CCTV cameras or higher walls. It’s about something as simple as not opening the main door without performing a simple check. According to reports, Rajkumar Singh, the former security guard, apparently knocked on the front door, and Monika, in good faith, let him in. Although this seems difficult to believe, the lack of evidence at this stage to prove forced entry leaves ‘entry through the front door’ as the only plausible explanation. A door chain lock might have helped, although the best form of security is not to open the door at all, especially if one is a woman living alone.
The story that now emerges is that Rajkumar went with the clear intention to sexually assault her, rob and kill her. He had a clear idea and a fairly workable plan. He did not jump over the compound wall, but walked in through the front gate. He hid on the terrace for two days before descending to undertake his heinous crime. It was planned and executed with a great degree of precision. In the end, a young lady with more than half her life in front of her and a promising career in perfumery is no more. It is sad, unfortunate and makes one angry at how easy it was to snuff out a life.
This was not a spur of the moment incident. Rajkumar had sufficient time to plan and implement it and the fact that he spent two days on the terrace gave him enough time to think and even abandon it. Instead, he was resolute in his intention, or desperate, or both. It would seem that at that point of time he had nothing to lose. Now he is cooling his heels and could be looking at life imprisonment if the case against him is proved.
No amount of scrutiny on the part of the security agency or policing on the roads could have prevented a crime of this nature, because no one expected it to happen. No one thought the theft of an umbrella, loss of a job or crush on an attractive woman could have unleashed the demon lurking within Rajkumar. But one must learn from this incident. And the lesson to be learnt is how to control that urge to open the front door without a modicum of scrutiny. Security systems which allow the inmates to view who is outside and even converse with them are available, but in this case, it was Monika’s trusting nature that made her open the door, unmindful of what was lurking in Rajkumar’s devious and depraved mind. And she paid for it with her life.
No purpose will be served by blaming the government or lamenting that the State is no longer safe because in this case there is only one person to blame – Rajkumar Singh.
