Bail for Dr Sen

There were some who felt that the often shrill defence of Binayak Sen was motivated by the fact that Sen was one of us articulate,educated,the sort youd have home for tea. But as Dr Sen himself pointed out,he was to use a medical term an index case. He represented all those unfortunates caught between a brutal Naxal enemy and an obdurate state. Besides,as this newspaper repeatedly argued,whatever your politics,if you believed in the rule of law,Binayak Sens travails were a travesty.

His release comes at a time of renewed Naxal atrocities. Apart from spilling blood during the elections,Naxalites recently killed 16 cops in eastern Maharashtra. The enormity of the threat they pose demands a strong response,and the Chhattisgarh government is quite right in taking the threat seriously. But as long as Sen remained in jail,the states war against the Naxalites would always be tainted. Were its actions based on valid suspicions,or merely the desire to see a critic squelched? Sens release on bail offers a chance for the Chhattisgarh government to turn the page. To stop hounding a frail heart-patient with insufficient evidence,and focus instead on actual Naxalites.