I'd you don't punish Pandya today, tomorrow other players will do the same thing. In South Asian countries, you can easily bypass law if you have power. Only weaker ones are given punishment. That's why these countries lag behind and are still underdeveloped. Rape allegation news on Pandya is gone as media is no more interested in covering that event. What an irony.
Still I am not sure whether the allegation is 100% true. If that is the case, he should be given the strictest punishment possible. But the cautious attitude from him in smuggling the luxury watches surprised me. Krunal Pandya (his brother) was booked for the same offense three days before Hardik was caught and yet he had the courage to repeat the offense. BTW, Hardik was not retained by the Mumbai Indians for the next IPL. I guess he may be playing for the Ahmedabad franchise in 2022.
https://www.dnaindia.com/cricket/report-ipl-2022-mega-auction-latest-updates-list-of-players-retained-by-csk-mi-dc-rcb-kkr-dhoni-kohli-pant-rohit-2921113