High profile criminal cases of India

At present in the national media the stories which are being run raises an alarm in our society. These are the stories of high profile cases that the entire country is following. Be the nitish katara case, the priyadarshini matto case, Jessica lal case, shivangi bhatnar case and the now at present the latest of the Arushi Talwar case.

Along with few mentioned and few not mentioned stories, our society is growing and progressing and we the component of the society are part of it?

Inspite of the whole lot our social economic structure differentiates with sex. Women are still not treated genuinely. The society does not treat them indisputably. But the alarm which this raises is being it the rich and the powerful or the poor class women are being treated badly even at present in my country.

The society mind set has to be changed by making strict laws and fast track courts. It’s high time we should have witness protection laws

Day before yesterday Nitish's brother said, ''Six years, two months and 16 days back, I lit Nitish's pyre. He died for love, freedom and that belief is now vindicated ‘‘. The indomitable mum still have a long way to go Inspite of the lower court verdict to Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav guilty under Section 302 (murder), 364 (kidnapping), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC for life imprisonment.

The family has been with the Law & Order system searching for answers and bringing the killers who so effortlessly gutted their son and a brother.

The motive behind the abduction and killing was to end Bharti’s love tangles with Nitish Katara. The prosecution examined as many as 43 witnesses and the defence 26 witnesses in the case. Bharti was the sole witness to the series of events leading to Nitish’s murder. But unlike, Juliet’s of the past who ended up giving up their own lives in the name of love, this one simply ………have no words to describe bharti... Only time will speak...

The court has said – “she has not done justice to the soul of deceased, on one hand she admitted writing letters to him reflecting their relationship”. It was on this account his brother and cousin was nailed but she turned hostile. The course of time will spill the beans…..

It took five years to get her from London and testify. I witnessed all this on TV channels; Hindi and English both. Nitish mom has sat through 400 sittings waiting to hear the judgment of May 30th 2008. From identifying her son's charred remains to fighting for the case to be heard out of Ghazibad courts for a fair trial. She also saw the witnesses turn hostile and lost her husband, who supported her in the fight for justice along with the father of the accused D P Yadav ex Rajya Sabha Samajwadi Party MP.

The mother of nitish is still fighting combined forces of money, politics and riches, orthodox mentality, socially abhorrent natures, antisocial elements and the society is a witness to it…we are witnessing..

Neelam katara is prepared to fight till the end for her son right up to Supreme Court and so is Yadav-The politician for his son till the end. And so is Bharti…….. We wait and watch…..

There are several cases where the court has failed to punish the culprits because of their high profile influence or lack of evidences due to hostile evidences. But of course, few judgments like in Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Matto’s cases, where the court proved that it did not succumb under any pressure.

In Priyadarshini Matto murder case, the accused is Santosh Kumar Singh son of a former IPS officer and a lawyer. He is serving imprisonment at tihar jail for being convicted in the brutal rape and murder of Priyadarshini Matto, a 23-year-old law graduate which left her friends, public and media stunned on January 24 1996.

But his defense lawyers of Santosh Singh are stiill fighting for him questioning the validity of the DNA report one of the main causes why he was given the benefit of doubt in the Trial court.

Its been more than a decade now. We read in newspapers that Priyadarshini was allegedly murdered by her college senior. After getting problems from Santosh she had filed a complaint in the police station in 1995 as was getting stalked and harassed by Santosh.

On the day of crime that is the January 24th 1996 Santosh allegedly raped Priyadarshini and it has been said in the evidences that he mauled her face with his helmet and strangulated her with an electric wire.

The CBI took the case for investigation. Dealt the case in there specific ways. Inspite of this the accused Santosh Singh was acquitted by the trial court on December 3, 1999.

The family of Priyadarshini fought the battle on the grounds of being hopeful because the judge of the trial court had said in the judgment that he knew that Santo’s was the man who had committed the crime but he was forced to acquit him due to lack of evidence.

The forceful media spotlight led to an accelerated trial, unprecedented in the tangled Indian court system.

Under pressure the investigating agency CBI challenged the judgment in the Delhi high court on February 29, 2000.

Public pressure mounted greatly after an acquittal verdict in the Jessica Lal case, where a number of accused including politician's son Manu Sharma were released despite the murder taking place in a high-society bar in the presence of a dozens of people.The original acquittal was overturned and Santosh Singh was found guilty of murder and rape in 2006 finally.

Ripples went in society and it showed how insecure a citizen can get against this kind of a person if was left free.

At present he is behind bars and his wife with her daughter is safe in the society. The convict was none other than a lawyer, and society had expected much from him.

The case is one of several in India that highlight the ineffectiveness of traditional criminal law system, especially when it comes to high profile perpetrators, including the Manu Sharma and Sanjeev Nanda acquittals.

High Court than had found that the investigative agencies had not done their duties with responsibility. It was said further that two Delhi Police officers did not investigate the case properly.

The Bench on October 17 2006 held Santosh Kumar Singh guilty of the two charges. For a crime which was committed with premeditation and in a brutal manner and for sexually assaulting Matto, the Bench sentenced the convict to life imprisonment under Section 376 of IPC as well as imposed on him a fine of Rs. 5,000.

Had the police taken the complaints of priyadarshini seriously, this incident would have not transpired.

Hearing the verdict Priyadarshini's father Mr Matto expressed satisfaction that justice had been achieved ten years after the gruesome murder.

However, intense public scrutiny was mounted in the case after the acquittals in the Jessica Lal case, with Priyadarshini's aged father Chaman Lal Matoo making frequent appearances on TV, bringing the judiciary under intense pressure.

The conviction will most probably be challenged in the Supreme Court of India, but the verdict and the process is seen as a barometer of a changing India. The ablity of the powerful to remain above the law would be curtailed.

The judgment held the CBI responsible for unfair investigation and failure to produce Virender Prasad, Mattoo’s household help, which resulted in the obstruction of justice. The police had claimed Prasad had gone missing and was not traceable, yet in the aftermath a journalist could easily find him in his Bihar village. Jurnalism should produce these journalist instead of the sensitizing issues that of Arushis Murders which is going on at present.

In Jessica Lal’s case, Manu Sharma, son of a Haryana minister, killed Jessica on April 29, 1999, because she refused to serve him liquor in the restaurant where she was working. The case was closed and all the accused were freed due to lack of evidences, but finally, the case was reopened after media and public outcry, which led to Sharma’s conviction.

Its been media on behalf of the common man who made people ware through news and their forced efforts also forced the police and helped the nab the culprits.

In the present Arushi Talwar case the media has highlighted the loopholes but some channels have even confused . The IGP in charge of the case has called Arushi “characterless”. Her emails have been leaked to the media violating her and her friend’s privacy. The police in capabilities of investigation have again been highlighted. Although an appeal from the women and child minister India gas been made to suspend him. Arushi father the prime suspect will undergo a narco test if given go-ahead.

No crime will be committed if police are honest enough. But sadly, police department in our country thrives and flourishes on bribes only. The final welcome is always welcome by most of us but very few think on how to act on such case where all the culprits should be prosecuted. There are very cases where the society has played a crucial and active role.

How can the civil society get involved in the shaping of our laws and institutions?
Transparency, accountability, legitimacy, credibility, predictability, and reliability, can be attained with society’s confidence and stability.
Its time to act and now…