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Journalism of Courage
AT the RCF colony in Chembur in Mumbai, R Ramnarayan Namdeo is seen more as a victim of the system than a villain. Namdeo, a Central Industrial Security Force jawan, had gunned down his senior officer and held his colleagues hostage at the Shivaji Chhatrapati international airport in May last year. Despite his 8216;absconding accused8217; tag, in Chembur there is no dearth of support for him.
Namdeo8217;s father Lataprasad and mother Umadevi moved out of this colony a few months ago, but the residents still speak of them sympathetically.
8216;8216;They were good people. Our husbands and sons who work with the security forces are always insulted by their bosses. How much can they bear? Woh bechara ladka isi karan pagal hua the poor boy went crazy due to this,8217;8217; says a resident who knew the family well.
Children who knew Namdeo and even those who didn8217;t spin glorious tales of his exploits most of them a figment of their imagination. They have romanticised his airport misdeed into a tale of valour.
Namdeo is charged with killing deputy commandant A R Karanjkar at the airport on May 24, 2003. He was reportedly angry with Karanjkar for refusing him leave to be with his father who was to have an operation.
Twenty-four months on the job and this small-town boy from Panna in Madhya Pradesh could not take the pressure. He fired nine rounds from the self loading revolver, five hit Karanjkar.
He also held six colleagues captive in hold number 16, the room overlooking the departure lounge. After a seven hour drama he surrendered to the Mumbai police. On October 6, the trial court granted him bail. But the state filed an appeal against this in the Bombay High Court, which in turn cancelled his bail, observing that he 8216;8216;was prima facie involved in the case8217;8217;.
Namdeo appealed against the High Court order and filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court. On December 19, 2002, the apex court asked him to surrender before it on January 12, 2004. Since then he has been absconding.
His lawyer Majeed Memon is also waiting for news from the jawan. Says Memon: 8216;8216;His father is now at Vishakapatanam on a transfer. Namdeo had told me he thought he was the cause of unending trouble for his mother and appeared very depressed. The great question is whether he is still alive.8217;8217;
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CASE FILE
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| Stress busted 8226; Namdeo shot dead his senior officer and held colleagues hostage at Mumbai8217;s Chhatrapati Shivaji airport last May 8226; His bail was cancelled and in December 2003 he was asked to surrender by January 12, 2004. He8217;s absconding 8226; Meanwhile, Namdeo8217;s colleagues say if he hadn8217;t run away, his case could have helped highlight their dismal working conditions |
The Namdeo incident had also triggered a national debate on stress in the services and how many of the staffs8217; psychological problems stemmed from working for long periods without leave.
The CISF personnel at the airport are tight-lipped about the incident and Namdeo8217;s whereabouts. 8216;8216;He was a jawan like us but he killed a senior. He should hand himself over to the court, it can change things,8217;8217; said a jawan.
Others confessed, although reluctantly, that the Namdeo trial would have brought out into the open the subject of harassment doled out to lower level personnel by senior officers. 8216;8216;We still work in pitiable conditions, we still do not get leave or see our families for months. The trial would have brought this out and also an important order from the court,8217;8217; says another jawan. With Namdeo absconding, that issue too has fizzled out.
