THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- November 29, 2016- Topic 1
The daring escape of six
prisoners, including the self-styled commander of a Khalistani militant group, from the Nabha Jail in Punjab is another wake-up call for
the security establishment. This is the second major jail break in the country in the space
of weeks involving high-profile prisoners jailed on terrorism charges. Both
were well planned and executed. While the jailbreak by members of the Students’
Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) from the Bhopal Central Prison last month was
planned inside and executed largely by the prisoners on their own, the incident
in Nabha was aided by a group of armed men from outside wearing police
uniforms. Shortly after the Bhopal jailbreak, all those who had escaped were
gunned down in an alleged encounter. And a day after the Punjab incident,
Khalistan Liberation Front chief Harminder Mintoo was nabbed in Delhi, while
the alleged mastermind, Parminder Singh, was arrested in Shamli district in
western Uttar Pradesh. Apart from Mintoo, the five others who escaped are still
at large. They are identified as Kashmira Singh, an alleged terrorist, and
Vicky Gaundar, Amandeep Dhotian, Gurpreet Sekhon and Nita Deol, all described
as dreaded gangsters. It is not clear if the plan was to release the militants
or the gangsters, or all of them. Whatever the aim, it is evident that the
so-called high security prisons are hardly fool-proof. Those incarcerated have
enough scope to hatch a conspiracy, keep in touch with accomplices outside and
finalise escape plans in meticulous detail.
What is also troubling is
that even before the jailbreak has been thoroughly investigated and as the hunt
for the escaped men is still on, the incident has taken on political overtones.
With Punjab due for an Assembly election early next year, the suspicion that
these men were breaking out of jail to disturb the peace in the run-up to the
polls will naturally arise. However, while voicing this suspicion, Punjab
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has alleged a Pakistani hand. State
Director-General of Police Suresh Arora has voiced suspicion of official
connivance, noting that retaliatory firing by the police at the armed men was
completely ineffective. Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Amarinder
Singh has called the incident a sign of breakdown of law and order and alleged
official complicity at the highest level. While a high-level probe is necessary
to unravel the entire plot and establish any laxity or connivance on the part
of the authorities, the real issue is that there are too many shortcomings in
the security arrangements in our jails. Introducing a new security regimen that
will plug all loopholes ought to be a national priority.
Vocabulary
Executed: carry out or put into effect a plan, order, or course of action.
Example: The corporation executed a series of financial deals
Synonyms: carry
out, accomplish, bring
off/about, achieve, complete, engineer
Prisoner: a person legally held in prison as a punishment for crimes they have
committed or while awaiting trial.
Example: A third of all inmates are remand prisoners who are awaiting trial or
sentencing.
Synonyms: convict, detainee, inmate, jailbird, con, lifer, yardbird
Aid: help, assist, or support (someone or something) in the achievement of
something.
Example: Women were aided in childbirth by midwives
Synonyms: help, assist, abet, come
to someone's aid, give assistance, lend a hand
Nabbed: catch someone doing something wrong.
Example: Olympic drug tests nabbed another athlete yesterday
Synonyms: catch, capture, apprehend, arrest, seize, grab, nail, pull
in, pick up
Dreaded: anticipate with great apprehension or fear.
Example: Jane was dreading the party
Synonyms: fear, be afraid
of, worry about, be anxious about, have forebodings about
Incarcerate: imprison or confine.
Example: Many are incarcerated for property offenses
Synonyms: imprison, put in
prison, send to prison, jail, lock up, put under lock and
key
Hatch: an opening of restricted size allowing for passage from one area to
another, in particular.
Example: There are three opening ports on each side of the cabin trunk, an opening
hatch forward plus the companionway for excellent ventilation.
Conspiracy: a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.
Example: A conspiracy to destroy the government
Synonyms: plot, scheme, plan, machination, ploy, trick, ruse, subterfuge, racket
Suspicion: a feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true.
Example: She had a sneaking suspicion that he was laughing at her
Synonyms: intuition, feeling, impression, inkling, hunch, fancy, notion, supposition
Connivance: willingness to secretly allow or be involved in wrongdoing, especially an
immoral or illegal act.
Example: This infringement of the law had taken place with the connivance of
officials
Synonyms: collusion, complicity, collaboration, involvement, assistance, tacit
consent
Complicity: the state of being involved with others in an illegal activity or
wrongdoing.
Example: They were accused of complicity in the attempt to overthrow the government
Synonyms: collusion, involvement, collaboration, connivance, conspiracy
Regimen: a prescribed course of medical treatment, way of life, or diet for the
promotion or restoration of health.
Example: A regimen of one or two injections per day