Hyderabad- A City Shamed

Dr Priyanka Reddy, we are sorry. 29 Nov 2019, will forever be remembered as a black day, a day
when the city of Hyderabad let down a young soul. Priyanka, your memories will haunt us for a long,
long time to come !!!

Let’s build brand Hyderabad, said our KTR. Sir, this one incident has done irreparable damage. Take
it on the chin sir. Taking to twitter is only saving grace. Your Home Minister says that Priyanka
should have called Police instead of her sister. Do you know why she didn’t call Police? Its trust
deficit. We don’t Trust the Police, politicians and bureaucrats. Several of us when we call 100 are
confronted with a “which police station query”? Learn from UBER, Swiggy. When the “Nirbahaya”
incident happened at Delhi, at a college forum, a young lady said “Pizza arrives faster than the
police”. While the Police Officer present took offence, the lady’s been proved right in Priyanka’s
case. A milk vendor reached before the Police. Friendly policing, my foot. Safe Colonies ?? Step into
our areas and we can show you so many vulnerable areas. As Priyanka’s family grappled with this
unfortunate situation, we flagged off the new metro route. Just not done. Priyanka belongs to all of
us. We are part of her family, the family of Hyderabad. Restraint should have been the order of the
day but it seemed business as usual and another day at the office.

Priyanka was violated, what followed was even worse. The family made to go around in the name of
Police station jurisdiction. Why can’t every police station accept complaints for every areas of the
city as is being tried out for the property registration? The sad part is that even after registering the
complaint, the “With You” police force had to depend on a milk vendor to arrive at the scene of the
crime. Why couldn’t the police move all resources (other “safe” locations of the city”) to the vicinity
of the last known location And to top it a gory, graphic description of how they investigated and
arrested the culprits. The CP on live television described how Priyanaka was dragged, violated,
murdered, the how and who did what, detailed time lines. We expected some “sensitivity”. To a
question from a journalist, he non chalantly quipped, “Because it is Gang ……., an ACP will
investigate, otherwise an Inspector would have sufficed. And he repeats it in Urdu, Telugu and
English. Sir, had it been your daughter, the whole police force would have been on the ground.

How did the media respond? TRPs as usual. Mikes thrust into the face of Priyanka’s sister asking her
for her demands. CCTV visuals, googlemaps, glorifying the culprits (Showing their pics a thousand
times). One channel even played out the audio of the last call Priyanka made to her sister, heart
rending. Come on guys; give the family some privacy to grieve the loss of a dear one.

So what do we do? This one incident speaks for the fragility of the Hyderabad city, societal
framework. Let’s take responsibility. Each one of us, do whatever is possible now and now. Notice
any element which seems to threaten your peace, nip in the bud. Identify the vulnerable locations in
our respective neighbourhoods, be aware, build community resilience and keep praying that God
gives us the “Change what you can, accept what you cannot and wisdom to know the difference.”

Hyderabad- is a city shamed today. While the Politicos, bureaucrats and media react rather than
responding, a helpless citizenry can only say “Sorry Priyanka, Hyderabad let you down”.