“The communication with Muhammad Riduan had been very positive, but when there were negative reports and comments, he backed off.”

– Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador

COMMENT | The M Indira Gandhi case is the best example of how the system has failed non-Muslims. The narrative of the state is so ingrained that many people do not view this as a religious kidnapping but rather a domestic spat between a husband and wife. Indeed, I have heard journalists refer to it as such.

If the police were a functional institution, the sensitivities felt by the kidnapper to the bad press he received would not be an issue. Here we have the state security apparatus attempting to negotiate with a kidnapper who apparently gets upset by bad press. Does anyone else find this laughable?

Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Abdul Hamid Bador refers to “constraints” in bringing the kidnapper back. Now, normally, I would understand if the state needed to be conservative with the flow of information. But after nearly a decade of mismanagement, mala fide intentions and plain incompetence, I believe that Indira and the section of the polity which believes that this is an important issue, deserve full disclosure.

What are these constraints? What is hampering the police from working with local enforcement agencies from bringing him back? If the kidnapper is in another country, has the police and other enforcement agencies been communicating with relevant authorities of where the kidnapper is? Have they collaborated on how to best bring back the kidnapped child to her mother?

Honestly, why doesn’t the...