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Why our high profile Investigations usually wind up nowhere?

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The scourge of corruption and the unaccountability of the political class and their complicit bureaucrats have seriously undermined India’s well-being and development. Good, transparent and fair governance has never been front and centre. In our country the rich and the connected are above the law.

Let’s start with the sensational potboilers playing out in Mumbai for the last 2 years and more. The unexplained death of film actor Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR) which the city police immediately dismissed as a suicide. This tragic event was preceded 3 days earlier by another mysterious death of Disha Salian, one time manager of SSR. Passed off as another suicide. Accompanied by a curious, affirmative chorus from a section of the media, some film people and some politicos. Both the cases were closed in the first week itself by the Mumbai police, supported by botched up post mortems at a convenient hospital. The entire approach seemed casually pre-determined. The professional Mumbai police of yesteryears under Julio Ribeiro would not have contaminated the possible crime- scenes. Once evidence surfaced of a possible link between the 2 suspicious deaths, the detectives should have been smacking their lips. Instead, a narco-racket connection, missing hard-drive from SSR’s systems and trails leading to the film industry and the corridors of power were ignored and buried. Thanks to massive outrage on social media the CBI and NCB were brought into the picture and raised hopes of a thorough investigation. Over the last 18 months there have been political theatrics and lots of planted news but justice has not been served. The Central Agencies have flattered to deceive. Why the inordinate silence. ?! At least let the final official version come out.

The other matter is equally sensational and has many strands. The “Vasooligate” or extortion scandal masterminded by some politicians and their police lackeys. Collecting monthly money from dance clubs, bars, restaurants et al. Shades of the protection money or hafta collected by the goons of the underworld. The Home Minister had to resign, a big wicket to fall. That’s all. The Sarkar’s hand-picked Commissioner of Police ended up on the wrong side of this venal churning and disappeared for more than 220 days. What were the State Police and the Central Agencies doing??!! An absolute disgrace. A re-instated sub-inspector goon presumably ran the racket at the behest of the powers that be and went around with a note counting machine. Was the administration sleeping?! Amidst all this a dead body was found floating near a creek. Quickly pronounced as another suicide by the local police authorities. However, in this case the charade could not be kept up and Murder it was. Another link to this curious plot was the planting of explosive devices outside the residence of India’s richest man, Mr Mukesh Ambani.  Central Agencies like the CBI and NIA joined the fray with the Mumbai CID and Police going great guns. With so much time, energy and resource invested what has been the outcome so far. Another never-ending saga. Till the next episode. For public memory is short.

This leads to 3 assumptions. First, that the police are under the control of their political masters and will not rock the boat. The colonial police of the British Raj has evolved into the “Feudal” force of present times. All political parties are one on this matter. Ironically, if given a free hand the cops will not cop-out but can solve difficult cases like the Nirbhaya rape and murder.

The investigating agencies have not been provided with the professional know-how and infrastructure to crack today’s crimes. Forensic training, social data recovery, tracking cyber-hacking footprints and money-laundering trails and sharing of inputs between different agencies.  In the much publicised “Aarushi” murder case incompetent police and forensic work has led to the question of whether the conviction of the Talwars was a miscarriage of justice.

Last but not least is to whether there is a quiet understanding between the political parties to have each other’s backs if a big scandal erupts. A few pawns will have to be sacrificed but that’s the political chess-board, isn’t it. The long-hands of the law rarely grasp the necks of the biggie politicians, business and media tycoons and stars and celebrities.

Please draw your own conclusions. Are these raids or arrests – witch-hunts or political or personal vendetta? Or just to gain political capital from a gullible populace and garner votes during elections. For many of these arrests and allegations are made just before election season kicks off? Or to deflect and distract public attention from some sordid goings on in their own camp? Here, a word of caution. In all fairness, such fraud or crime issues should not be kept simmering indefinitely. The Government of the day (the BJP led government now or the State governments) should give it a closure if there be no conclusive evidence. It should not be raked up again for a hit job during the next election season. As the Bard said, “a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

The unearthing of the Rs 270 crs cache of black money from the residence of a perfume baron in UP coincides with the upcoming UP election. Probably, these monies were to fund rallies and campaigns; to buy and swing votes for some political party in the State polls. With some part of the country always in election mode, such news snippets give a sense that the anti- black money mission is very effective. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Despite De-Monetisation, unaccounted cash continues to grow and thrive.  This dark side of our election story harks back many decades. The Nagarvala case of 1971. Supposedly a RAW agent gone rogue. The Rs 60 lakhs of unaccounted cash was kept in suitcases at a leading nationalised bank branch and handed over to this mystery man on the basis of a purported phone call from the PMO office. He was nabbed the next day, confessed and sentenced within 2 days, to a 4 years imprisonment and died in prison a few months later. One of the speculations was that this was KGB sponsored election funds. The Agency had infiltrated the highest levels of our Government per the Mitrokhin documents.  Today’s Chinese whispers are that Chinese money is propping up some of our political outfits, media houses and activists. A serious national security issue. Indian intelligence agencies will be on high alert.

Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi are our poster-boys of financial crimes. The two have duped our PSU banks of thousands of crores and are financial fugitives in London.  Their passports could have been impounded as evidence of their scams had already surfaced. That the King of Good Times attended a Rajya Sabha session on the 1st March 2016 before fleeing the next day is telling. Coincidentally, it was on the 2nd March 2016 that a cluster of PSU banks moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal against Mallya. The diamond merchant escaped from the country on the 1st Jan 2018. On the 29th Jan 2018, the PNB filed a case with the CBI against Modi. Is it just sloppiness on display here or is there more to it? The Panama papers were released in 2016 with the names of 930 Indians or entities parking their monies in off-shore accounts in tax havens. The Pandora papers of 2021 exposed the names of 300 Indian businessmen and celebrities with such accounts. These reports are the work of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICICJ) and many European countries have taken serious note and action. Other than a few snippets here and there like the actress Aishwarya Rai being called for questioning, there does not seem to be much headway. It needs to be said that some of these off-shore accounts may have been disclosed and legitimate. Official statements to such effect must also be released.

Over the last 70+ years Independent India has seen thousands of public frauds, corruption scandals, corporate favouritism cases, and ties with the underworld. But the administrative will to go after the big-wig culprits has simply not been there. Yes in the late 50’s Mundhra went to jail in the LIC scam as did Big Bull Harshad Mehta in the stocks-scam of the 1990’s. But the exception proves the rule. The defence procurement scams of HDW submarine, Bofors and Augusta Westland have never been laid to rest. The middle-men have been outed and named (foreign nationals) but the investigators have lacked the balls or the skills to connect them with senior political figures or bureaucrats. Mr VP Singh, our Mr Clean PM, used them to win an election, period. The leaked Nira Radia tapes not only brought to light the corporate lobbying interface with the Union Ministers. It also hinted at how coalition political partners were vying for lucrative ministerial berths and how influential media persons were facilitating the same. The Saradha Chit fund Ponzi scam claimed a couple of MLA’s in Bengal and the file was closed. Coming to the present, is it so difficult to establish whether in the Rafale fighter aircraft deal kickbacks of 7.5 million euros were paid in secret commission to a middleman to seal the deal (alleged by a French investigative journal in 2021). Although, the Supreme Court has already ruled on the matter in 2019.

Some may pertinently point out that Bihar’s CM Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav went to jail in the fodder scam.  Sure. His wife, Smt Rabri Devi became the interim CM.  Madam Jayalalitha also spent time in jail in a disproportionate assets case, but her life is celebrated in a recent film drama called “Thalaivi” or Revolutionary leader. Sahara Shree Subroto Roy is in the Tihar jail. But he is frequently out on parole and by all accounts having a cushy arrangement in the prison quarters also. The Sahara group long innings was enabled by political patronage. Mr Ramalinga Raju spent only 35 months behind bars for the Satyam Corporate scam which shook the Indian business world at that time. Not even a slap on the wrist. Film star Sanjay Dutt was jailed for illegal possession of weapons but was out on parole for a large chunk of his sentence time. And then there was the film, “Sanju” and director Raj Kumar Hirani doing a great white-wash job on his buddy’s  very dubious connections. 

The NCB raids especially on Bollywood stars have attracted a lot of media attention.  Drug peddlers have been nabbed and there have been drug seizures across the country. Some film stars have been grilled eliciting excited reactions on social media. The spotlight on drug trafficking and the film world is welcome. These celebrities are role models to millions of youngsters and their being held accountable is a good thing. So is the counselling of some of the young stars and star scions. But here again are we missing the forest for the trees. Drugs are the main source of income for the underworld and the Pakistani establishment and terror outfits in the region use it to fund terrorism.  It finally boils down to a national security issue. No political party or law and order machinery can compromise on this.  Also, what of the 3000 kgs of heroin worth Rs 20,000 crores seized at Adani port in Oct 2021. The Director of Revenue Intelligence and the National Intelligence Agency are seized of the matter. But will we know more about the origins and the kingpins or will it just remain one of the largest drug seizures in the world?

This leads me to another headline grabber- the incarceration of businessman Raj Kundra for 60 days around Sept 2021. He was arrested by the Mumbai police in connection with an adult film racket. Released on a surety of a paltry Rs 50,000. Was this yet another case of Much Ado About Nothing; or was it the Maharashtra Sarkar trying to deflect attention from the “Vasooligate” crises; or with the accused being the husband of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty was it signalling that it was not being soft on the film industry. Perhaps the Mumbai police was trying to reclaim its lost glory. Else, did this exemplify another case-study of poor diligence and follow-up in building up a convincing case? An aside. Raj Kundra is a joint-owner of the Rajasthan Royals franchise which was banned from the IPL tournament for 2 years on match fixing charges.

Take the case of match-fixing in Indian cricket. Would the truth have ever come out had not South African captain Hansie Cronje admitted and confessed to South Africa’s King Commission in 2000 that he had fixed matches for money and had been first introduced in 1996 by Azharuddin, the India captain, to a bookie. Granted that the Delhi police had shared the initial findings with the South African Cricket Board in March 2000. A side-note is that a PR movie called “Azhar” was made to clean the slate and he became the Congress MP from Moradabad and now is a senior functionary in the Telangana Congress. Then the IPL match fixing and spot fixing scandal saw CSK and RR being banned for 2 years from the tournament.  Sreesanth being the only well- known cricketer to take the rap. Why the top promoters, administrators and players got away is not really a mystery. Incidentally, the film on MS Dhoni makes no mention of this sordid saga.

The toxic effect of unbridled corruption and power on our society is there for all to see. The black-money economy has become a large, parallel and unregulated sector with all its corrosive impact. But it is the top-down trickle syndrome which has earned us the stigma of a highly corrupt nation. People in all walks of life are now emboldened to be corrupt and not only for financial gain. Integrity has lost its value and currency. The real brunt is being felt by the poor and the middle-class. Think of the labourer whose 50% wages is siphoned off on a daily basis by the contractor through his agent. The Government proclaims that a lot of government transactions and document related work can be completed on-line. Things have improved in certain areas like passport issuance and renewal. Otherwise, the ground reality is that one has to download forms and submit the documents physically. If one wants prompt results, enter the agent. You know what this means. This palm greasing for every little thing is what earns us the honors on global corruption indexes. The heroism of front-line health workers, policemen and sanitary workers and many common folk are being justly applauded in these Covid hit times. But one cannot turn a blind-eye to the huge profiteering during the pandemic. Whether it being availability of the Remdesivir drug or the scarcity of oxygen or hospital beds. Covid 19 has shown us both the good and bad sides of who we are as a people. The Aam Aadmi has just given up or become indifferent to this plague of corruption.

What is also worrying is that even educated people tend to shrug off this unsavoury aspect of life. As if it was just another tax to pay as a common citizen. Even more worrying is that many of them tend to look at corruption through the prism of community, State or ideology. Underhand dealings are ok if done by a leader from ones’s own community, State or preferred political party. Some of these charlatans are feted as Chanakyas- Masters of the political chess-board.

The pandemic of corruption is rampant throughout India and has hollowed us out as a nation. Is it better or worse in a certain area or region or government is a relative concept. The misdeeds of the present Union Government will also be exposed after a few years. After all, they have adopted the same old playbook. Then the skeletons will be out of the closet and will dance to the tunes of the new regime in place.

One of the lowest points of the current dispensation has been the handling of the 2017 Unnao rape and subsequent murder cases. The BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar continued to get the support of his party till the shit hit the ceiling. The 17 year old rape victim tried to immolate herself in front of the CM’s residence and the media and activists thankfully jumped in from thereon.  Amidst the uproar, the Supreme Court and the CBI had to step in to send this so called local bahubali to life imprisonment in 2019.

One of the ways to break this insidious status quo is the tabling of the Vohra Committee report in its entirety in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for an intensive debate. It should also be made available for public scrutiny and consumption. Submitted in Oct 1993, it is deemed to be an expose of the links between the Mumbai underworld and top politicians and officials at the State and Central governments. Only 7 or 8 pages have been briefly discussed in some Parliamentary Committee and the 100+ page exhaustive dossier has apparently gone missing. Why??? By Whom??? The PIL matter is pending with the Supreme Court.

Police reforms will be the game-changer. A litmus test for the Central Government. Incredibly, the Police Act of 1861 is still in place. The landmark SC ruling of 2006 with its 7 crucial directives for implementation has been gathering dust for many years. A law-oriented, fair, impartial and apolitical police force is a hallmark of a mature and progressive nation. But an anathema to the powers that be. This vital force has to be ramped up by half a million personnel; their abysmal working conditions and below- par salary structure requires significant improvement; with modern equipment and training enhancing their effectiveness and public perception. But considering the general disenchantment with the police, it will make sense to expand the Community-Policing initiative. To foster engagement and trust between the people and the police in an area. The other side of the same coin is to invest in, to overhaul and build a robust judicial system. Most administrations have been very miserly on their judicial related budgets.

Our Netas and their Enablers are averse to any change and they rejoice in the general public apathy. As a people we are quite indifferent to reform although we will benefit the most from it. Change for the common good has to be forced into the system. Constant pressure has to be built up and applied on the powers that be. Social media now provides a vast and instant connect and it’s for the citizens and especially the younger, aspirational generation to put the writing on the wall.

Cans of Worms

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The mysterious deaths of the talented actor, Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR) and his one-time manager Disha Salian have created frenzy in the media space and in political circles. There are some who dismiss it as TRP sensationalism when the country is facing a COVID and economic crises. They do have a very valid point. The Lutyens group and their Bollywood cronies have derided it as the media trial of a helpless Rhea Chakraborty and her decent, middle-class family. A veritable witch-hunt.! A chorus of other reasonable people question why an actor’s apparent suicide is deflecting attention from a 23% drop in GDP and the tense confrontation with China at the LAC. Pause. The palpable panic which has gripped the Maharashtra coalition government tells a different story. B-town after the usual sarcasm from the usual suspects has gone deathly silent. That the Mumbai police is being played by their political masters is becoming more obvious by the day. What a fall from grace for the professional Bombay force of the Julio Ribeiro days.

There is something rotten in the state of Mumbai. The cover-up of SSR’s death has inadvertently opened up a can of worms.  A smelly, filthy, ugly can of worms. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe is haunting the powers that be- politicos, cops, Bollywood, drug cartels and the larger Mafia. The investigation has become an expose not only of possible homicides or abetted suicide but of a huge drug ring, hawala racket, narco-terrorism and even a deliberate undermining of our nation’s security and interests. The ‘Janata’ following the case for 3 months are keeping their fingers crossed.

It is my hope and prayer that this Trimurti effort be entrusted to the best professionals and be given a free hand.  Let the facts come out. Let the truth prevail. Let this not be an elaborate ploy just to get the BJP party back in power in the State. If the Aghadi Sarkar comes down be sure that the politicians will again show their true colours- cling on to whatever power or position they can. President’s rule for a couple of years will be the right decision. The BJP should not forget that this can of worms has taken a multi-dimensional life of its own.

I have long been convinced that political parties have a secret pact of their own. They may spew vitriol at each other in public but there is a tacit understanding in private. Whichever party is in power will not go after the big fish in the opposition ranks. There is a mutual protection agreement amongst the political elite. Please do not get misled by the occasional case of a Jayalalitha or Lalu Yadav spending some time in comfortable confinement.

The investigative dossiers may be there, so also the proofs. But nobody goes the whole hog. Mr Chidambaram spends sometime in the cooler on alleged corruption charges. Remember that he had sent the present Home Minister to jail when he was the Home Minister…?! This money laundering case too will linger on and the public will forget. Most intriguing was the ₹ 15,000 crore bogus stamp papers Telgi scam. His narco-tests were suddenly shown on some TV channels, whispering the name of a political strongman. The head of a national level party just sending a not so veiled message to a political opponent.?!!!

It must be emphasized that in all fairness such issues should not be kept simmering indefinitely. If there be no conclusive evidence, the government of the day ( the BJP led govt now) should give it a closure. It should not be raked up again for a hit job during the next election season.

Independent India’s first official scam was the Jeep scam. Krishna Menon, High Commissioner to UK, bypassed protocol in 1948 and ordered around 2,000 refurbished jeeps from a little known foreign company for our military use. A substantial amount of the then ₹ 80 lakhs deal was paid upfront. Only 155 jeeps were delivered but did not pass the Defence Ministry tests. Pandit Nehru’s patronage ensured that even the judicial inquiry was dropped in 1955. In Jan 1956, Mr Menon became a member of the Union Cabinet ending with his glory days as Defence Minister in the disastrous Indo-China war of 1962.

1957- The Mundhra scam. The Calcutta industrialist was given ₹ 1.26 crores from the LIC to bail out his six troubled companies, without the approval of the LIC investment board. Further, Mr Mundhra had just had a forged shares episode in 1956. Government pressure prevailed. Till one Mr Feroze Gandhi, MP, raised the issue in the Lok Sabha.  A one man inquiry committee in MC Chagla was appointed and he submitted his report in only 24 days (he was later one of India’s best External Affairs Ministers).  TT Krishnamachari had to resign as the Finance Minister and Mundhra was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment.  Feroze Gandhi had hit a home run. He was the son-in-law of PM Nehru. Their rift continued to grow.

The Nagarvala case of 1971 gets curioser and curioser. He called up Mr Malhotra, Manager, SBI, in presumably Mrs Gandhi’s voice asking for Rs 60 lakhs for a mission of national importance. He got the money!! and disappeared for all of a day. On 22nd May he was picked up at the airport. On the 26th May 1971 after a day’s trial and a confession he was sentenced to 4 years in jail. He died a few months later. So did the police officer assigned to the matter- in a road accident! Was Nagarvala an ex-RAW agent and a fraudster or simply a courier with things going awry? As the Mitrokhin papers have revealed India had been infiltrated by the KGB by this time. Ministers, bureaucrats, journalists, professors did their bidding. Or were these secret funds for a geo-political purpose?

On the late night hours of the 2nd December 1984, the ghastly Bhopal Gas tragedy happened. Lethal gas leak from the Union Carbide plant. 20,000 died. Lakhs more developed severe health complications. On December 7th 1984, their CEO Warren Anderson was quietly airlifted from Bhopal to Delhi at the orders of the CM.  Mr Rajiv Gandhi, the PM, allowed him a free pass to the USA. It is speculated that this was done as a quid-pro-quo for a US Presidential pardon for Adil Sharyar, a close friend of the Gandhis, who had a long prison sentence ahead. Finally in 1989 the Supreme Court ordered a $470 million compensation. One of the legal eagles consulted by Union Carbide – Mr Arun Jaitley.

In 1982, there had been the HDW submarine $300 million deal with the West German Company. Fat commissions and middle-men were involved. 6 people including the Secretary in the Defence Ministry and Mr GP Hinduja, industrialist in London were under the scanner. VP Singh later said that he resigned as Defence Minister in 1987 because of this corrupt arrangement. No money trail. No closure. No notable convictions.  Just political capital for VP Singh, Mr Clean, as he became the PM in 1989.

This was also the fall-out of the famous Bofors scandal in 1987 when a Swedish whistle-blower exposed the money sleaze in this ₹ 1,500 crs contract for 410 field howitzer guns. The middleman was Ottavio Quattrochi, an Italian citizen, said to be close to India’s first family. But again a lot of noise and confusion signifying nothing. The CBI botched up everything- delaying lodging the FIR, dragging their feet on the Interpol Red Corner notice, de-freezing Quatrocchi London bank account, shoddy extradition follow-ups…Sounds very familiar doesn’t it?

After the Mumbai bomb blasts in 1993, the then CM added one location to the 12 actually impacted by the blasts. He said that he did this to avoid a communal conflagration by fictitiously bringing in a minority dominated locality into the picture. His presence of mind was lauded by some in the media and also by the SriKrishna commission. The CM also repeatedly stated that the LTTE may be behind the blasts. But was this an attempt to deflect attention from Pakistan and Dawood Ibrahim. The Vohra Committee was appointed in July 1993 and gave its 100+ page findings by October 1993. Some in the know say that it contains explosive revelations of the nexus between senior Maharashtra politicians and babus and D company. The report has never seen the light of the day and the Home Ministry now says that it has been misplaced. Connect the dots. A sense of dejavu.  Almost 30 years later we are again talking about the same underworld links. If only the Vohra Committee report had been tabled and discussed responsibly and in the national interests.

The 26/11 attacks have been categorically tracked back to Pakistan and the ISI by the Indian intelligence agencies under the UPA regime and fully corroborated by the international intelligence community. But Digvijay Singh and Mahesh Bhatt presided at the launch of the book ‘26/11- A RSS Conspiracy” in December 2010. The former to please his political masters in Delhi as a loyal courtier and to counter the growing threat of the BJP. The latter’s son Rahul hobnobbed and moved around with David Coleman Headley, the ISI agent and mastermind for almost a year- a recce of all the spots where the terror attacks took place. A rattled and fragmented Indian government gave this B town scion a surprisingly easy pass. It did not matter that innocent foreigners and Indians, hotel staff and police had been brutally killed in a terror attack managed from Karachi. In 2020 also, these insidious elements and manipulators who have hollowed out India into a soft country, continue to thrive. If only it were not so disgraceful, it could have been shrugged off as ridiculous.

In 2009, Ramalinga Raju admitted to a ₹ 14,000 crore fraud. Falsifying accounts, inflating company revenues, raising false invoices, diverting money to real-estate. He was fined ₹ 5 crore and finally sentenced to 7 years in jail. In 2011 itself, he was on bail as the CBI had still failed to file a charge-sheet. He has done a total time of just 35 months and is now involved with his family’s successful health-care and agri businesses. Not even a slap on the wrist. The rich and the connected are above the law.

The Sahara scam of ₹ 24000 crore is well known in the public domain. With full political backing Subrata Roy was going great guns in 2011 with 3 crore ( mostly fictitious) investors. From 2008 he had been raising money without complying to the Regulatory framework. SEBI stepped in and stood its ground and finally the Supreme Court brought him to book in 2014. But Sahara Shree has been enjoying regular parole since 2016 . After all, he has had such close associations with several big time politicians.

Breaking news is that civil courts in Hyderabad and Patna have granted an injunction restraining Netflix from airing its new web series Bad Boy Billionaire from the 2nd Sept 2020. Mr Raju and Mr Roy say that it is an invasion of privacy and tarnishes their good name. Holy Shit!!!

The Saradha Chit Fund rip-off in Bengal has also hit the headlines. A Ponzi cum Pyramid scheme where more than ₹ 20000 crore has been siphoned off from mainly 1.7 million lower income investors lured by the promise of high returns. In 2014, the Supreme Court had to order a CBI investigation as nothing was moving at the State level. Two TMC MP’s and one State Minister have been arrested. Sudipto Sen, the MD, turned out to be a former Naxalite who had undergone a complete identity change. Recently, the high profile Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar has been grilled by the CBI for tampering with evidence to protect the accused and also some TMC politicians The West Bengal CM gallantly protected him from the Central investigators for as long as she could. Resonates with what is happening today in Maharashtra, what??

In 2002, a drunk Salman Khan is alleged to have killed one and injured 4 other pavement dwellers in a hit and run. Consider what happened afterwards. Singer and friend Kamaal Khan who was also in the vehicle catches the first flight back to London. But Ravindra Patil, the constable bodyguard sitting next to the star reports to the Bandra Police station that Salman was driving the vehicle in a drunken state. This police eye-witness, officially assigned, is repeatedly threatened and driven into hiding. He misses 5 hearings and the police issue a non-bailable warrant against their own. He is even thrown into jail. His testimony is dismissed as not reliable. The broken guy, without a job, dies in 2007, an alcoholic and TB patient. The powerful can get away with just about anything. The much-vaunted Mumbai police had started showing its true colours many years back.

The 2017 Unnao (UP) gang rape case starkly shows the criminalization of politics. At the centre, the BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, touted as the Bahubali in these parts.!! The 17 year old victim tried to immolate herself in front of the CM’s residence in April 2018. Thankfully, the media and the activists jumped into the fray.But the Supreme Court and the CBI had to step in for this hardened criminal to be sentenced for life behind bars in Dec 2019.In this shameful case, the father of the victim was wrongfully accused of being the perpetrator and died in judicial custody. In another sinister incident in July 2019 a truck rammed into a car causing serious injury to the victim and the death of two of her relatives.Eerily reminiscent of the movie-‘ Article 15’. Outrageously, the BJP continued to support the goon till the shit hit the ceiling.

Just 2 small rotten nuggets to add to this unpalatable fare being served. For the list is long and growing. The Harshad Mehta stock-market scam, Coalgate, Irrigation Ghotala (scam) , DHFL collapse, ICICI Bank-Videocon corrupt deals, the Nirav Modi super swindle…The $2 billion dollar diamond fraudster runs away from the country in Jan 2018 under the watch of the BJP led Centre. Taking the cue from the ‘King of Good Times.’ Vijay Mallya, an independent Rajya Sabha MP with friends across the political spectrum, coolly chatted with them on the 1st March 2016. The next day, this defaulter of ₹ 9000 crore from 17 Indian banks flees to London. Have the authorities been napping at the wheel? Or well-wishers told him to move on? Take your pick.

A few days back we all celebrated Teacher’s day – the birthday of our second President Dr Radhakrishnan. His mentee for Doctorate, Jadunath Sinha filed a case against him in the Calcutta High court in 1929. For infringement of copyrights and plagiarism from his published and thesis material for the Professor’s books. The case was settled out of court three years later. Radhakrishnan was a close of friend of Mr Nehru and his left leanings endeared him further to the PM. Hence, Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Vice President and President of the Republic in 1962. The first Teacher’s day was commemorated that year. We should move it to the 15th October every year as homage to Dr Abdul Kalam, our only great President.

Corruption, Inefficiency and Cabalism hurts the poor and the middle-class the most. 70+ years after independence we have to shed our feudal regard for politicians and bureaucrats. Not foolishly adulate some as modern day Chanakyas. We have to demand accountability. Performance. Delivery on promises. They are counting on our short public memory span. Divide and Rule still works for them. Manipulating and distracting is their modus operandi. And to paraphrase GB Shaw, “Politics is the first refuge of the scoundrel”. We have to stop joining them in kicking all these cans of worms off the roads and out of sight.

Use the power of genuine public activism and an effective social media to make things uncomfortable for these so-called leaders. Give them no place to hide. Persuade & Influence the Prime Minister to use his majority to push through these structural reforms before the end of 2021. Indeed, the NDA has been paying lip service for many years. (a) the police reform Act to make the force independent, autonomous and totally professional. Ditto for the Central Agencies.  (b) Make political financing transparent. (c) Keep criminals out of political positions.  (d) bring in one-third reservation for women at the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The States will have to follow suit. (e) Finally, strengthen and enable the judiciary that critical cases are fast-tracked over a few months. Justice has to be seen to be fair and impartial with nobody above the law. Justice has not only to be done but also seen to be done.