mid-day editorial: The Sapna nightmare needs to end now

For nth time, yesterday, Mumbai witnessed the terror wrought by Sapna Pereira as she climbed up a hoarding yet again, and threatened to jump while stoning the public below. Sapna is notorious for her high-rise hooliganism, with repeated instances of her clambering up towers or hoardings to grab attention.

In December 2016 as well, this paper had reported how she went on a rampage outside the Mother Teresa Missionaries of Charity ashram in Vile Parle, pilfered the ration storehouse, stoned the institution, and even pelted rocks at a sister suffering from cancer. These shameless, criminal and dangerous acts have continued despite the police catching her each time.

The police have informed this paper that there is a slew of complaints against her at different police stations across Mumbai. It is time for one single authority to step up and take the onus of finding a solution to this problem. To call her a nuisance or menace is not looking at the problem holistically, and is actually trivialising the issue. She is a danger to the public, and it is just a matter of time before somebody gets gravely injured or worse. If she tries this again, the authorities should be prepared to decide what to do with her, and see to it that repercussions are swift and extremely strict.

The police say she has been produced in court and warned numerous times. But each time she gets out on bail, she is back to her antics. Repeat offences cannot be endlessly tolerated. Make the charges stick, send her to a mental institution or keep her behind bars, if need be. Do not downplay the damage she has caused. We cannot believe that this one woman can be allowed to wreak the havoc she does. Tackle this with toughness and without delay.

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