Friday, February 24, 2006
Have money, will kill, and the law be damned!
I think it all started with Puru Raj Kumar, the son of former Bollywood star Raj Kumar. I used to have a deep faith in the law, and the old saying 'Be you ever so high, the law is above you.' Unfortunately, its just a saying...
A few years ago, Puru Raj Kumar ran over 2 pavement dwellers. The exemplary punishment meted out to him - a fine of Rs. 35000/- and no, I haven't missed out on some 0s!
Around the same time, Sanjeev Nanda, son of a retired admiral (and current international arms dealer!), and his friends ran over 6 people, including 3 policemen. The case ran for a long time, and I really don't remember the accused having been punished!
Priyadarshini Matoo, a college student in Delhi, was raped and killed by Santosh Singh, who is the son a senior IPS officer. At the time of acquitting Singh, the judge clearly said that he knew that the accused was guilty, but was being forced to acquit him due to lack of evidence presented by the police!
I do not even want to get into the various offences of Salman Khan, the list is just too long!
And two days ago, the final straw on the camel's back. All the 9 accused in the Jessice Lal murder case have been set free. Of course it was a very complicated case, with 'just' 90 people present in the Tamarind Court when Manu Sharma shot Jessica Lal because she refused to serve him a drink, then ran away. It took 7 long years for the court to pronounce its judgement, after all, the accused included Manu, the son of an ex Union Minister(and now Punjab cabinet minister), Vikas Yadav - son of UP Don-turned-politician(actually aren't the two words interchangable?)DP Yadav, two executives of Coke, and a relative of former president Shankar Dayal Sharma! Actually, why blame only the accused? Look at the star witnesses for the prosecution. Socialite/Designer Bina Ramani, who owned Tamarind Court alongwith her daughter. She first identified Manu and later said she was not sure if this was the same man! Model/actor Shayan Munshi, the first signatory eye-witness on the FIR, who later said that he didn't know Hindi and so had no idea what he was signing. Of course we totally believe him that he didn't see anything!
Bottomline: Kanoon ke haath lambe hote hain, but only for us ordinary people. A different law exists for the high and mighty of the land. We are not a democracy, because common citizens of this country can be trampled upon by anyone who has enough money and muscle.
A few days ago, a lot of us saw 'Rang De Basanti' and came out of theatres full of enthusiasm to change the world. Today, I am not sure whether we can do much about it. But still, I'll tell you what I am going to do - I am never going to watch any movie with Shayan Munshi in it. I am never going to buy any clothes designed by Bina Ramani, or be be associated with any activity/cause in which she is involved. I am never going to drink any Coke product, because the company stood by Amarjit Gill, the guy who drove Manu's car away from the pub in the morning.
And finally, I am not going to let these people affect my life so much that I lose my faith totally. May the Force be with all of us!
A few years ago, Puru Raj Kumar ran over 2 pavement dwellers. The exemplary punishment meted out to him - a fine of Rs. 35000/- and no, I haven't missed out on some 0s!
Around the same time, Sanjeev Nanda, son of a retired admiral (and current international arms dealer!), and his friends ran over 6 people, including 3 policemen. The case ran for a long time, and I really don't remember the accused having been punished!
Priyadarshini Matoo, a college student in Delhi, was raped and killed by Santosh Singh, who is the son a senior IPS officer. At the time of acquitting Singh, the judge clearly said that he knew that the accused was guilty, but was being forced to acquit him due to lack of evidence presented by the police!
I do not even want to get into the various offences of Salman Khan, the list is just too long!
And two days ago, the final straw on the camel's back. All the 9 accused in the Jessice Lal murder case have been set free. Of course it was a very complicated case, with 'just' 90 people present in the Tamarind Court when Manu Sharma shot Jessica Lal because she refused to serve him a drink, then ran away. It took 7 long years for the court to pronounce its judgement, after all, the accused included Manu, the son of an ex Union Minister(and now Punjab cabinet minister), Vikas Yadav - son of UP Don-turned-politician(actually aren't the two words interchangable?)DP Yadav, two executives of Coke, and a relative of former president Shankar Dayal Sharma! Actually, why blame only the accused? Look at the star witnesses for the prosecution. Socialite/Designer Bina Ramani, who owned Tamarind Court alongwith her daughter. She first identified Manu and later said she was not sure if this was the same man! Model/actor Shayan Munshi, the first signatory eye-witness on the FIR, who later said that he didn't know Hindi and so had no idea what he was signing. Of course we totally believe him that he didn't see anything!
Bottomline: Kanoon ke haath lambe hote hain, but only for us ordinary people. A different law exists for the high and mighty of the land. We are not a democracy, because common citizens of this country can be trampled upon by anyone who has enough money and muscle.
A few days ago, a lot of us saw 'Rang De Basanti' and came out of theatres full of enthusiasm to change the world. Today, I am not sure whether we can do much about it. But still, I'll tell you what I am going to do - I am never going to watch any movie with Shayan Munshi in it. I am never going to buy any clothes designed by Bina Ramani, or be be associated with any activity/cause in which she is involved. I am never going to drink any Coke product, because the company stood by Amarjit Gill, the guy who drove Manu's car away from the pub in the morning.
And finally, I am not going to let these people affect my life so much that I lose my faith totally. May the Force be with all of us!
# posted by Obi Wan @ 7:05 AM 
