Justice for Manjunath

Sixteen months after S. Manjunath, an young officer with Indian Oil Corporation, was murdered at Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, the district court at Lakhimpur Kheri has pronounced as guilty all the eight accused. This is a heartening development. All the more so because this case too could have gone the way of the Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mattoo cases in the lower courts, given that three of the witnesses had turned hostile. For Manjunath8217;s shattered parents, as indeed for this newspaper which has reported extensively on this story, the verdict brings a modicum of satisfaction that justice has been done and fairly quickly at that. Which is more than can be said for executive action on the issues raised by this murder.

This newspaper had recognised the tragedy as one that epitomised both the promise of the India story, and the inherent threats facing it. S. Manjunath, like Satyendra Dubey in 2003, represented GenNext 8212; highly talented, educated and dedicated people who believed in the country8217;s future. When they confronted corruption they could not, like so many of their counterparts, look the other way and carry on. Dubey put his disquiet down on paper by penning a letter to the prime minister pointing out that his cherished Golden Quadrilateral project entailed, at least in the Gaya stretch, the 8220;great loot of public money8221;. Manjunath, when he discovered a petrol pump selling adulterated fuel, threatened to revoke its licence. Instead of being rewarded for their courage 8212; a courage to resist the corrupt, a courage that India badly needs 8212; both men paid for it with their lives.

The issues these two murders raise remain unaddressed. The contractor mafia still exercises a stranglehold over road-building projects in the country, the oil adulteration mafia continues to make money out of spiking petrol and diesel, helped in no small measure by the misplaced government subsidy on kerosene. Worse, the Centre has not moved an inch to make the lives of those who confront corruption any less lonely, any more secure. The proposed whistle-blower8217;s legislation remains in cold storage. This verdict from the Lakhimpur Kheri court comes as a reminder of the great deal that still needs to be done in tribute to the commitment of Manjunath and Dubey.