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The Jessica Lal murder case provoked a public outcry against miscarriage of justice that impelled authorities to reopen the case. The distortion in the case was so brazen that even worms turned. Middle class empathy with the murdered victim finally aroused public opinion. But it would be facile to conclude that India is on the way to reform of its criminal justice system. This is just the first half step.
A rude reminder of how India compares with the rest of the democratic world was provided by the recent death in prison of Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic. His death was as controversial as his life. His critics complained Milosevic's death cheated justice. His admirers alleged he had been killed to prevent embarrassing truths coming out in his trial. The Hague Tribunal's case against him was not so open and shut as generally believed. Verified facts differed vastly from earlier propaganda. NATO had claimed that 100,000 to 500,000 Albanian civilians had been massacred by Yugoslav forces. Milosevic got compared to Hitler and Pol Pot. The vast number of civilians allegedly killed was used to justify NATO's bombing of Serbia which was legally questionable. In November 1999 the Hague Tribunal prosecutors revealed to the press that after seven months of forensic investigations, they had found just 2108 bodies. This smaller number didn't exonerate Milosevic. But it should persuade Indians to ponder. In Amritsar district of Punjab, 2097 civilians were killed by the Punjab police and secretly cremated. This was done ostensibly to wipe out terrorism. But many of those cremated and listed as disappeared were found after investigation to have had no links to terrorism. So was it done for personal vendetta, or for extorting money, as claimed by many relatives of the victims? A recent event revived memories of the Punjab police role which was swept under the carpet. Those bearing constructive responsibility for police crimes were hailed as national heroes. During last month's Budget session of the Punjab Assembly, a fierce debate took place after the re-emergence of a so-called slain terrorist. The man deemed dead was enjoying a comfortable life with the connivance of the police. Punjab DGP SS Virk defended the police action "taken in the interest of the country in general and Punjab in particular." Not surprisingly, former DGP KPS Gill supported Virk. The defence put up by Gill and Virk appears exceedingly weak in the context of gallantry awards and financial rewards collected by police officers responsible for the "slain" terrorists. Terrorists who are in fact leading comfortable lives! Would Virk like to enlighten us also on whether these awards were in the national interest? Media identified half a dozen glaring cases of slain terrorists whose comfortable lifestyles embarrass the police. |
