Opinion Letters to the editor: On a loop

It is a matter of great shame that the alleged rapist in the Uber case is a habitual offender. He was booked in 2013 in a rape case in Uttar Pradesh. How come he is roaming free, able to target yet more innocent, unsuspecting women? The Uber case has reignited the debate on women’s safety in our country, especially in big cities where they have to stay out late to work. This case has also put a big question mark on the efficiency of our police administration. It must be investigated how the alleged rapist procured a forged police verification document. Accountability must be fixed at some level. This is a wake-up call for the government and bureaucracy.
— Shiv Sethi
Ferozepur

Time to stop
NANDINI SUNDAR explains the age-old tussle between the government and the adivasis well (‘Old, old war, IE, December 9). Both parties have their own claims: the government desires the mineral-rich forests for economic and industrial development, while the Maoists have an ancestral claim over the land. But is this development? Can we oppress some people for the good of many? Another striking fact is the rising number of military companies of the Maoists (one in 2005 and 10 in 2010) because of the atrocities committed by our security forces. Till when will this cycle of strike and counter-strike continue? Can we not include the adivasis in the development of the nation? Are the people of Chhattisgarh who are fighting for their rights to be tagged as anti-national? Whatever happened to “sab ka saath, sab ka vikas”?
— Muhammad Arif
Aligarh

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The exception?
L.N. MISHRA was killed on January 2, 1975. After nearly 40 years, a Delhi court convicted four men for the assassination of the then railway minister. I’m sure the appeals process will now begin and the case will continue. Perhaps when the guilty are six feet under, the case would conclude at the Supreme Court. Justice would be served. If this is the way the assassination of a Union minister is handled, ordinary citizens have no hope.
— B.K. Chatterjee
Faridabad

Old friends
THIS refers to ‘When Moscow calls’ (IE, December 8). The visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India comes at a time when Russia is facing a huge economic crisis. It has been hit hard by Western sanctions because of its Ukraine policy. Russia and India had shared a good relationship in the past, but of late, it has moved closer to Pakistan and China. Putin’s visit is significant in this context.
— Devendra Khurana
Bhopal