By, H. Bhavan Meitei
However the suffering of the parents knew
no bounds. From day one, they were sure that it was a clear case of murder. The
matter was taken up with the local police and it was registered as a case of
death under suspicious circumstances. However due to protests from students’
community, it was changed into a case of murder! The indecision of the Police
was matched by the lack of clarity on the part of the medical authority. The
earlier report of murder was changed into a case of cardiac arrest. This led to
dropping of murder charge framed earlier against the two students! Following
the direction of the Union Home Ministry the case was handed over to the CID of
the Karnataka Police and the duo charged of murdering Richard were released on
bail.
Today it seems that case has come to a
standstill. After the entire hullabaloo generated during the initial stage of
the case, it seems there is no light at the end of the tunnel. From the look of it, the case is certainly
going to get lost amongst the criminal files of the Police Department with no
solution in sight. It certainly exposes the lacuna in the criminal justice
system of the country. Only a miracle could deliver justice to the departed soul.
When it comes to cases involving people from the North-East, there is surety of
inconclusiveness and incompleteness - the chronicle of a death foretold!
Most of the investigations being ordered by the government in the
North east or cases related to this region were ‘inconclusive’ and people
calmly swallowed itself alone in the darkness. The recent case of the alleged
murder of Richard Loitam, an engineering student from Manipur is no
exception……..
When
the nation was celebrating the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League
(IPL), cricket tournament as a festival, a young lad from Manipur was found
murdered in his hostel room allegedly by his room mates on 18th
April, 2012 in Bangalore. The report hit the media houses across the country,
many covered as an event with lots of ‘enthusiasm and fervour’ but little
later, it dissolved suddenly in the mid-air.
Hoping
against hope, many joined hands together in social networking sites for the
justice of the victim. A facebook page ‘Justice for Richard Loitam’ hit more
than two lakh in a few days and many raised voices to punish the culprit, but
it also seemed to fade away as it falls
on ‘deaf’ ears.
Conclusion
or justice aside, even the journey to get into the investigation had many
twists and turns for each day that passed by.
When
Richard Loitam was found dead in his sleep in the afternoon of 18 April,2012
the college authority tried to pass off as a case of accident which took place
on 15April2012. However the circumstances of his death could not conceal that
it was the case of out and out murder! What was disturbing were the allegations
levelled against the deceased student. First the college authorities tried to
defame late Richard as drug addict. However the allegation was withdrawn
following the hue and cry raised by students’ communities in Bangalore and
elsewhere. Later on, medical report revealed that it was a case of brain
haemorrhage and not a trace of drug was found in his blood as alleged earlier
by the college authorities and the police.
Even more disturbing was the role of the
college authorities. First they tried to cover up the whole incident by taking
the body to the hospital and informing the police later on. Their baseless
allegation against the student of being a drug addict needn’t be reiterated.
Their callousness, irresponsibility and devilish attitude towards the case
could be matched by few cases in the history of the country!
When the last report came in, the autopsy report
was reportedly sent to AIIMS for re-examination. What is disturbing in the
whole episode of the case is the flip-flop on the part of the medical
authorities and the Police in dealing with the case. The case assumes a bigger
dimension when one takes into account the sense of discrimination one could
experience when it comes to case as sensitive as Richards’. The sense of
justice and propriety on the part of authorities was observed more in violation
than in keeping with it.
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