Sweet and sour
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 20, 2009 -
The decision of the State Government to induct the wife of the slain SDO, Dr Kishan, into the MCS to which her husband belonged is fitting.
So too is the decision to provide Government jobs to the next of kins of the other two employees killed along with the SDO, according to their educational qualifications.
So far so good, but there is a slight twist in the other important decision taken by the Government.
We do not have much to say about the suspension of the SP of Ukhrul district, Mr A Dorji, but there is something sour, we will not go to the extent of saying bitter, about the stated reason for the suspension of the DC, Mr Pankaj Kumar Pal.
By all means the top officials of the district should be penalised for it is now apparent that nothing was done to protect the SDO and his men but the ground that the DC has been placed under suspension for negligence of duty is taking things a little too mild.
In other words it is like merely applying Boroline on a deep cut, which definitely needs stitching ! We understand the IAS lobby is powerful but there are times when IAS officers need to look at issues as human beings by removing the blinkers from their eyes and by putting aside the point that they belong to an elite group.
As per reports which have poured in, the Dr Kishan and his men were abducted from very near the DC office, if not from within the campus.
This all important point should have been given due weightage by the Government before it took the decision of grounding the DC for "negligence of duty". Why can't criminal proceedings be initiated against the DC for the simple reason that failing to act as the head of the district, when his men were abducted, can surely amount to complicity in the crime?
Or are IAS officers also immune to the laws of the land just like the security personnel are under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act? Suspension will amount to only a small black dot in the service record of the officer concerned and since the current issue is an exceptionally brutal case of killing, more stringent action is needed.
Only the Chief Minister and his men can answer why they decided to somehow soft peddle the issue.
Or did they succumb under the pressure of the IAS lobby? Another important point to note is that since the MCS officers had raised an audible cry for justice, measures should be taken up to ensure that they are not victimised by their seniors who belong to the elite IAS category.
Having said this we would like to reiterate our earlier call to all not to give a communal tinge to the brutal killings of Dr Kishan and his two subordinates for doing that would amount to falling into the hands of the murderers.
Dr Kishan was an exceptional and promising young officer with a vision for Manipur and any communal tension that arises would not be doing justice to his soul and his dreams of a Manipur.
The killers are still at large and our energy must be focused on how to bring them to justice as well as to tear away the mask of the organisation to which they belong.
Efforts should also be mounted to rescue the other three who are still in the custody of the killers. Can we expect the State Government to deliver this? Let's pray.
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