It was the negligence and lapses on the part of the police that led to the loss of two lives in Nenmara. It was a neighbour who had been staying in the village after violating the bail conditions who broke into the house in Nenmara Pothundi, Palakkad on Monday morning and hacked a mother and son to death. Lakshmi (78) and Sudhakaran (56) were hacked to death with a billhook. Chenthamara, who committed the murder, is accused in the case of killing Sudhakaran's wife Sajitha five years ago. He committed the first murder on the suspicion that his wife left him because of his neighbour Sajitha. The Palakkad Additional Sessions Court granted him bail on the condition that he should not enter the Nenmara panchayat limits. He had violated the bail conditions and stayed in the Nenmara panchayat and threatened to destroy Sudhakaran and his family.

The circumstances that led to this murder were created by the police, who did not take any action even after the families and locals of the victims filed a complaint in this regard at the Nenmara Pothundi police station. If the police had reported Chenthamara to the court citing the violation of the bail conditions, his bail would have been cancelled. Not only did the police not do that, but they summoned him and released him with a warning. "The man who killed my mother killed my father and my grandmother. Now let him kill me too. Didn't you put him in jail for four years and feed him well before releasing him?" This question from Sudhakaran's daughter Akhila is a shock to the conscience of the community. Akhila had been living in another house for a month out of fear of the accused.

Whoever did not take action on the complaint of this family in due time, they do not deserve to continue in the police force even for a moment. It cannot be said that such incidents will not be repeated in the state if the Home Department takes strict action in such incidents. Although they are isolated, brutal incidents of unprecedented nature are happening in the state now. It has not been many days since the incident in Chendamangalam, Ernakulam, where three people were beaten to death by a neighbour. The police say that the accused is a drug addict. Can anyone do anything if they become addicted to drugs? Earlier, people were afraid that the police would not let them go if they showed violence. Now, many people are emboldened to commit such cruel acts when they realize that there are police who do not take action even after complaints.

Anyone can understand at first glance that the failure to maintain law and order is the cause of all this. When corruption and influence engulf the police, the consequences are reflected in society in this way. Public workers in the state also need to be vigilant and intervene to avoid such incidents. The misuse of social media and the spread of drug addiction are becoming an incentive for many crimes. More conditions need to be imposed for granting bail to the accused in murder cases. Society should seriously discuss what precautions can be taken to prevent such mass murders from happening again. Along with this, the government should take up the protection of Akhila and Atulya, the children from Nemmara who were orphaned.