Many of the well-known criminals are reported to be in jail or have gone into hiding after RAB started its operations. But the Badda killings, newspaper reports go to suggest, might have been committed under instructions from a jailed criminal. If it is true, then some criminals might have been retaining their clout even when they are in jail.

The crime was an open and blatant defiance of any semblance of law enforcement presence. There was not even any attempt to carry it out surreptitiously. The killers traced their victims moving from one place to another, yet the local police had apparently no inkling of it so that they could not take any pre-emptive action against them. The result was a demonstrative, if localised, law and order disaster. Apart from creating panic among people, it also did a lot to corrode public confidence in police vigilance.

The decision-makers should take stock of the situation and refocus the fight against crime with full vigour and greater imagination on criminals of both the old and new genres. The point of great concern is that a second string of criminal gangs may have emerged after the crackdown on their leaders. This is an ominous development that has to be tackled energetically and efficiently.

Obviously, the focus should be on drug trafficking and all such illegal businesses that have thrived in the city and spawned delinquents of all types in not so underworld a world. They fight turf battles, resort to gangster murders and extort business people right, left and centre.

In the ultimate analysis, nothing would be more effective in curbing violent crimes than catching the murderers, prosecuting them in a foolproof manner and punishing them severely. The culture of impunity has to be reversed at some point, otherwise it will be a self-reinforcing demon.