Two killings in three days in Mysuru. A murder in broad daylight. Another alleged rape and murder of a minor. Both in the heart of the city. Once serene, Mysuru is trembling while criminals are fearlessly roaming.

Mysuru has witnessed a disturbing surge in lawlessness in recent years — from the murder of Vasumathi to R.N. Kulkarni; from the gang-rape at the foot of Chamundi Hill to Thursday’s horrific rape and murder of a minor.

In all these cases, many perpetrators remain at large, and in the cases where arrests have been made, the cases have been going on and on and on… with no convictions yet.

Our once-safe streets now quake under the audacity of lawless thugs. Why this decay?

Because… when justice hesitates, audacity rises. When the law sleeps, criminals wake up and run free.

In 1969, Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted a car experiment which illustrated what happens when the law turns a blind eye.

Zimbardo left two identical cars abandoned. He parked one in a rough New York neighbourhood and the other in a wealthy neighbourhood in California.

The New York car was vandalised within minutes, while the car in California remained untouched for 7 days until… Zimbardo himself smashed it, just once, with a hammer to cause visible damage. The law did nothing.

That single act of Police neglect triggered chaos. The next day, others joined in, destroying the car completely. The message was clear: Visible neglect invites more crime.

When wrongdoing goes unpunished, people assume no one cares, and the miscreants and criminal-minded grow bolder.

When law abdicates its duty, criminals multiply. And criminals have multiplied so much in India that today, people who were once lawbreakers have become lawmakers !

No Police can stop every crime or criminal, but sincere enforcement can deter audacity. Sadly, today in India, policing is a toxic cocktail of inaction, caste politics, judicial delay and political interference.

Let’s be honest. Policing today is less about public service and more about postings and payoffs. As Justice R. Devdas observed, “plum postings are assigned for monetary considerations.” This means officers will serve their investments, not justice.

Thirty years ago, MLAs fought for honest Inspectors to protect citizens in their Constituency. Today, they fight for ‘paying’ Inspectors to fill their own pockets.

In this ecosystem, why will the criminal fear the Constable? He sees it as an opportunity to help (finance) him get a posting in his area. He will then work for his collection and protection.

Add caste politics to this toxic brew and you have institutional rot.

Every party now has its pet Police Officers who are loyal by either caste, ideology or favour.

Transfer postings are not about competence but community.

The Police Officer who doesn’t bend to the ruling dispensation’s caste arithmetic is transferred to oblivion.

Justice, like reservation, is now caste-based. FIRs are delayed or diluted depending on who the victim and accused are, or which caste or community the Police Officer belongs to.

Every time a politician interferes in law enforcement or uses caste and community to protect a criminal, they chip away at the moral spine of our democracy.

The rot doesn’t stop at the Police Station and the politician. The Courts, too, move at a glacial pace. With over 3 crore cases pending in Courts, justice in India is not blind… it’s bed-ridden.

When this is the situation, why will a criminal not feel emboldened?

That is why Mysuru’s law-abiding citizens live in fear while thugs move around with an air of audacity? They roam boldly murdering in broad daylight, secure in the knowledge that they will get bail, because the FIR has been weakened based on a price, community or caste.

Mysuru’s descent from ‘Pensioners’ Paradise’ to ‘Lawbreakers’ Playground’ did not happen overnight. It happened with one ignored FIR, one delayed hearing, one caste favour and one political phone call at a time.

If the Police don’t reclaim their spine and the Courts don’t regain their speed, then the ‘Cultural Capital of Karnataka’ will soon become the ‘un-cultured’ capital of Karnataka.

This would be a tragedy greater than any robbery, rape or riot — it would be the murder of the very soul of a grand-old historic city and a betrayal of the generations who built it.

It will truly be a tragedy if Mysuru turns into Koletha-uru (Rotten City) at a time when our Chief Minister is from Namma-uru.