Delhi gangrape shows system's impotency: Ex-Army chief

New Delhi: The gangrape of a young student in a moving bus here is indicative of the "complete collapse of governance", former Army chief General VK Singh said on Friday as he accused the police of becoming "nothing more than security agencies" of VVIPs in the capital. Singh said the system stands "completely exposed and defanged" as not just one daughter on the ill-fated bus was at the mercy of this system, but hundreds others are equally vulnerable to predators in the face of "growing impotency" to take any action.

"The brutal assault and the heinous gangrape of a 23-year-old in a bus moving around the city with impunity is indicative of the complete collapse of governance...This case has to be a watershed. I pray for this brave girl's survival and my thoughts are with her family. We cannot let this go the Jessica Lal way, where if it was not for the efforts of her family, her killer would be back in business. The system has received its gravest warning - we must awaken before it is too late," he said in a statement.

Emphasising that providing security is the sworn duty of every government functionary, especially those in police and the judiciary, he said instead seemingly "we have a situation where almost on a daily basis, every institution of governance is being eroded".

"Today, the very agencies entrusted with policing the state and maintaining law and order have become nothing more than security agencies for the rich and famous, the so-called 'VVIP class' of Delhi. For an average citizen, getting a case registered even when grievously wronged is a virtual impossibility, let alone getting any form of justice," he said.

As a citizen and a former soldier, he said he implores the political class to look at the larger picture which will give the youth of this country hope for the future. "The police and security agencies must be allowed to do their job, just as moral standards of behaviour must be set by the governing class. Every policy decision that is taken with narrow political compulsions erodes into our system and has ramifications on both our internal and external security.

"Today the message in our country is clear - the only thing that matters is money! How you make it is irrelevant. If you have it, you're safe, otherwise you are damned," he said.