Why was Rs 30 lakh compensation given in cash? The unanswered questions in the Moga molestation case

It has been five days to the Moga incident where a teenager was molested, thrown off a moving bus which then resulted in her death. Yet, we are in the dark about several aspects of the case. Rather than a debate on public safety, the issue has resulted into a political blame game. The epicentre seems to be shifting from the state to Delhi, where angry parliamentarians sought adjournment of the Houses, and sacking of ministers. But there are other issues which remain unexplained. One, the family was offered Rs 30 lakh and it was accepted. But why in cash? It was reportedly carried in a black bag, as TV news footage showed. [caption id=“attachment_2223712” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The injured mother of the 13-year-old girl who died when the two were reportedly pushed off a moving bus to avoid being sexually assaulted. PTI[/caption] Two, was there any spoken or written agreement between the bus management, in this case Orbit, and the bereaved family indemnifying the former? Three, was the payment from the owners, or the government? The payment was in cash, implying it could be from the owners and the realisation that if a cheque were to be given, the chances of acceptance could be low. It could have something to do with a trust deficit, especially when powerful people are involved. In this case, a part-owner is Punjab’s deputy chief minister, who is the son of the chief minister and the husband of an MP. Though it would be a welcome respite for the family to not face the TV cameras of the news crews, the family cooled off only after the payment of Rs 30 lakh, indicating there may have been some pressure as well. The police have started ‘protecting them’, and the deceased girl’s father has said that he did not know the issue was being politicised. He also conveyed to the media, as per a Headlines Today report yesterday, the mother was in no state to talk. The powerful in any such situations can threaten, coerce or induce cooperation of a kind that helps bury the case or dilute it, and police connivance is a part of it. Before the Badals pulled the buses off the roads and announced orientation courses, the police offered their buses a protective escort, something ordinary private operators, despite connections, may not have secured so swiftly. So did the family need the security or did the political powers want to build a firewall between the family and the media?