Months back I shared a video by the academic Taimur Rahman in which he explained very logically what makes a psychopath in reference to Imran Ali, the culprit in Zainab’s murder case. He detailed what goes wrong with the person that in the end affects the society.
He touched upon how people get angry when told that the likes of Imran Ali, who was a naat khawan could indulge in something so disgusting. Generally, the religiously inclined people get somewhat offended that by saying things like that you are pointing fingers at Islam.
One person’s immoral act should not become a scar on any religion.
If we look at the criminal from that aspect then we will have to let him go owing to the fact that he recited naat which is something respected in our society. But the situation is not that simple.
Just like Taimur Rahman also mentions in his video, the psychology of such people who rape young children has nothing to do with their professions. It is a mindset, it is something in their past that triggers.
Read here Taimur Rahman’s take on the Zainab murder case.
What does the rape and murder of this innocent child teach us?
Recently I came across another op ed by a psychiatrist who talked in detail on Imran Ali and his motive behind raping and killing Zainab and many other young girls.
We know the family background and upbringing of the criminal Imran Ali by now. He grew up in a big family. Imran couldn’t finish school despite changing a number of them over the years. He started taking interest in naat recitation, the poetry and naat khawan inspired him. But his attempts to having access to naqeeb sb (teacher) and learn naat from them went unsuccessful.
In exchange for his dream he payed the price through something more vulnerable- getting raped himself. He soon got connected to a group of mafia that worked in this line of kidnapping and raping young children. In this line work, he watched porn, prostituted himself, made videos to blackmail their victims, made sexual dares, abusing younger children and eventually also killing them.
What is a psychopath like?
According to Amar Sarfarz who is a consultant psychiatrist, such people lack empathy and conscience. They are great at fooling those around them. With Imran Ali, had become a handyman in his neighborhood, a person people did not suspect. He was the one also helping others search for Zainab, attending funerals. In order to maintain power over others, they hold information. They have skills to play with people’s emotions, knowing exactly what will and what will not trigger others. They appear charming and composed that does not lead to them becoming suspects.
Another interesting thing about psychopaths is that they do not get distressed easily, even in prison like other prisoners.
Similar to what Taimur Rahman accessed, the psychiatrist also maintains that psychopaths’ own past haunts them but in a way that they take it out on society. With root cause lying with childhood experiences, dysfunctional family, the criminal of this mindset is trying to avenge for the abuse they faced in the past.
Hence over time they learn to become emotionless, never really experiencing joy or sadness like normal people. They could display cold behavior even in an emotional situation, or lack empathy for others in trouble.
So what can be done? It is hard to fix people which such level of psychological problems and history of criminal record. But something surely can be done for people who do fall victim to negligence at a young age and experience abuse. We can prevent them from become insensitive towards others. Families are first sanctuary for any physical or mental abuse children face. Schools play their role. If school detect’s something unusual about the students. Governments ensure that all children have access to a school and education; which will make sure that minimum slips like these happen in a society.
In our society however, treatment for psychological problem means the person will tagged as insane for life. Hence many people still never seek help.
