Moral equivalence

I do not find any distinction in spirit or in substance between the multi-crore ransom allegedly paid out of private resources...

I do not find any distinction in spirit or in substance between the multi-crore ransom allegedly paid out of private resources to Veerappan for obtaining the release of the Kannada actor, Rajkumar, and others, and the huge largesse in cash and in kind now being proposed to be doled out to Special Task Force personnel by both the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka state governments. After all, the individuals who join the police and other security forces do so with the full knowledge that they will be put in harm’s way some time or the other. It is their job to track criminals like Veerappan, and kudos are certainly due to them for carrying out the task successfully. These exploits must certainly shine on their resumes. It would, however, be pertinent to recall that no one has so far heard about cash rewards having been paid to the American soldiers who captured Saddam Hussein alive after a long, sustained manhunt.

— V. Nagarajan Chennai

The Bandit’s pals

• This is the right time to investigate which persons and networks sustained Veerappan, giving him support and refuge for the past three decades.

— R.S. Choudhry New Delhi

Means & ends

• Sauvik Chakraverti would have been better served expressing revulsion at the approach Veerappan took to justify his means (‘Veerappan as a respectable businessman’, IE, October 20). The fact that he might have been a victim of a systemic obsession with state ownership does not justify or condone his activities.

— Sanjay Shende On e-mail

Outlaw’s day

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• How can a state government give permission to militants to organise huge meetings (‘While Andhra talks to Naxalites, other states pay the price’, IE, October 23). These are people who plant landmines, kill persons, abduct innocents.

— C.S. Vithlani Abu Dhabi

Goldwater boy

• It was interesting that Ashok Malik picked up a quote by Barry Goldwater for his article on George W. Bush (‘Captain America’, IE, October 20). Now who was Barry Goldwater and what is his relationship with that champion of the world, Captain America? Goldwater was the Republican candidate for presidency in 1964. An outright Republican conservative, he wrested the leadership of the party from Republican liberals (a dying breed) and though he lost the elections, political historians credit him with paving the way for the consolidation of conservatism in the Republican party, paving the way for Ronald Reagan and thus our Captain America’s Pa, the senior George Bush. But why this long discussion on Goldwater? A conservative to the core, Goldwater opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and argued for use of low yield nuclear weapons to defoliate forests in Vietnam.

— Aditya Pant Mumbai

Chaitanyananda Saraswati, accused of sexually harassing 17 women, held in Agra

Cities5 min ago

A self-proclaimed 'godman' was arrested in Agra for sexual harassment and misappropriation of funds. He was accused of sending inappropriate messages and photoshopping pictures with politicians. The Delhi Police traced him to Agra and froze his accounts and fixed deposits. He was previously booked for harassing 19 women at a private institute.

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