Uniformly proactive

The media, the judiciary, the police, the Delhi Women Commission and the public have come out in support of re-investigation a...

The media, the judiciary, the police, the Delhi Women Commission and the public have come out in support of re-investigation and retrial in the Jessica Lall case, 8216;Door opens for second shot at Jessica justice8217;, IE, February 7. So far, so good. But why is the media not taking up the case of the common man when he suffers injustice? Shouldn8217;t the media be as proactive, even when the victim is not a celebrity? There are many cases of the guilty walking free after committing rape and murder and of undertrials languishing in jails.

8212; Amjad K. Maruf, Mumbai

Go further

8226; This refers to the news in IE, March 7, that the Delhi Police announced a probe against unknown persons who may have tampered with the evidence in the Jessica case. We should not forget that it was Delhi Police which subverted the investigation to help the accused Manu Sharma, who is the son of a Congress minister in Haryana. How can we expect an impartial inquiry of the same agency now? It will be another eyewash and waste of resources. To bring the culprits to book will require the High Court appointing an independent agency that will report directly to the court and not to the government, as Congressmen in the current government will do their best to help their minister, Vinod Sharma, bail out his son.

8212; Satpal Gera Delhi

8226; This refers to the Delhi Police filing an FIR in Jessica Lall murder case, with the re-investigation focussing on the officers of Delhi Police. This move leaves out an important aspect of the matter. Accountability has to be fixed on the judiciary as well. What right has a person to occupy the seat of justice if he cannot understand what was going on in the case? It was obvious that the accused bought off the investigating agency and witnesses. Also, while UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has advocated reforming the criminal justice procedures, she should have asked the Haryana CM to get Vinod Sharma, the father of the main accused, to resign from his ministry.

8212; M. Agrawal Delhi

Nuke wand

8226; Much is made of the Indo-US nuclear deal and it has captured the imagination of the Indian people as possibly the only solution to India8217;s energy needs. Not much has been done to understand the real necessity for such a nuclear deal. We could have done without it, since nuclear power generation does not figure significantly on India8217;s present energy map. Grave risks remain in setting up nuclear power plants near densely populated centres and we have, besides, large coal reserves for our future energy needs. The way the deal has been gift-wrapped it would appear that the US wants to expand the Big Five of the NPT to include India. The Bush administration will soon come back to get India to sign the NPT on the plea of getting it through Congress. In the past foreigners came with beads; today they come with nuclear fuel rods.

8212; S. Kamat Panaji

Strategic folly

8226; Despite India8217;s consistent economic growth, it has failed to inspire 8220;a responsible and intelligent leadership8221; 8216;Mass distraction8217;, IE, March 7. Entrenched in their opportunism, our leaders have often instigated an explosive communalism. The communal venom in the anti-Bush Lucknow demonstration ended up killing innocents. Mulayam Singh is encouraging communal leaders like Qureishi. Before long the VHP will jump into the fray. If India is to become a global power, identity politics must be kept out.

8212; Ved Guliani Hisar