the people of the village to boycott Kanakaiah and Agaiah, should they return to the village; they have auctioned Agaiah's cattle and given the money to a person with instructions to hunt for Agaiah; they destroy the crops of those who do not co-operate with them; and of course, to make their stay remunerative, they arrest people and release them for a 'consideration'. They are .said to have made 15,000 rupees this way in the past few months. When the people raised Rs 3,000 to put up bail for Kanakaiah, the police grabbed that also, The question remains: what is to be done? It is customary for civil liberties activists, when they gather at meetings, to put the blame for their helplessness on the apathy of the general public, particularly the white collar and professional middle class, with its obsessive preoccupation with the next instalment of Dearness Allowance. There is some truth in this, but perhaps the time has come to realise that the police establishment has acquired such a thick skin that a mere public outcry will not stop its lawlessness The rape in -police lockup of Hameza Bee and the killing of her husband raised a hue and cry in Hyderabad, with students and common people taking on the police in street battles. The accusation was also supported by the Mukthadar commission; but the police managed to get the case transferred to Raichur and dis missed. Bhagalpur is another case that excited widespread public condemnation, but according to recent press reports, all the 15 policemen and officials who were suspended have been reinstated and the only ones to be punished are those who exposed the atrocity.
