Journalism of Courage
Even as the judge read out his death sentence,Santosh Mane betrayed no emotions. Neither did he utter a word. Throughout his stay in the court,he either looked straight at the judge or kept his head lowered. He even avoided turning his face towards where the lawyers,police and crowd of media personnel sat.
When the judge finally read out the sentence,Mane was expressionless. The judge pronounced the verdict in English,and then in Marathi. There was neither remorse nor fear on his face. When his lawyers spoke to him,Mane nodded his head,apparently indicating that he understood the verdict. Minutes after the judge read out his verdict,Mane was whisked away to the court lock up. He walked briskly,keeping pace with a maze of policemen. He still didnt utter a word.
When inside the lock-up,a constable asked him if he wanted some water,Mane said,Mazi tabiyat theek ahain…(I am in good health). Other than this line,the constable said,Mane didnt say anything. I did not see any tears in his eyes. He remained silent, he said.
Another constable,who spent five days with him at Yerawada Mental Hospital,said,Mane looked normal. He used to ask for food and water. He also used to ask for newspapers. The constable was in the court for a different case.
Considering the experience of April 3,the day of Manes conviction,when the courtroom was packed with the victims kin,mediapersons and lawyers,the court police on Monday decided to only allow relatives of victims and reporters to sit in a small courtroom.
While Mane was outwardly quiet,the victims relatives became emotional when the judge described the rampage that claimed nine lives.
Santosh Mane,now 41,is a resident of Kawthale village in Uttar Solapur taluka of Solapur district. He joined MSRTC in 1999 and started serving as a driver at the Swargate Depot in Pune.
Manes medical report submitted in court shows him addicted to tobacco since class X and that he also occasionally drank alcohol though not an addict. The report says that his childhood was uneventful.
The medical report records him as having told doctors that he was suffering from mental disorder for th past 12-13 years and was treated by a Solapur-based psychiatrist Dr Dilip Burte for a period of one and a half years.
The court,however,held that information regarding mental illness was provided by Mane to mislead the trial and benefit by bringing the case under ambit of Section 84 of IPC.
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Mane married twice. His first wife,with whom he has three children,died in 2006 due to an ailment. Soon after,he re-married and had a daughter. All his children aged 15,13,seven and four years are school-going.
According to his lawyers,Mane owns two acres of land. But the land hardly yields anything due to the low productivity in the chronically drought-hit area. Manes family is currently is being looked after by his two brothers one a private vehicle driver and another a photographer.
