Editor,
In her article “The CBI Report-shrouded in mystery” (ST 26th Nov 2012) , I congratulate Patricia Mukhim for bringing out in detail the irregularities in the whole selection process relating to the appointment of the primary school teachers. I fully agree with her that all those who are responsible should be brought to book as well. But by and large irregularities do occur in many instances in the functioning of the government and this can be mainly attributed to indifference and lack of accountability. The Head of the bureaucracy has a lot to answer for this. But the issue here is that a crime has been committed by the tampering of marks in the result sheets and therefore those who are responsible for this have to be prosecuted. In this particular instance , a finger has been pointed out at the then Minister of the Education Department, Ampareen Lyngdoh and since the Minister has not given any evidence to prove otherwise, therefore, I see no reason as to why the question has been raised as to the FIR being filed only against the Minister. Catch the main perpetrator of the crime then the rest of the band can be easily dragged in into the net. Many bureaucrats in the Telecom Ministry were arrested only after A Raja was hauled in. Incidentally, there is the matter of defamation here also. If JD Sangma’s statement during the CBI enquiry cannot be corroborated then what prevented the Minister from instantly filing a defamation case against the officer for the damage to her image particularly, as it seems, no action has been taken against him possibly because of political back up. Or is it because there are more skeletons in the cupboard of JD Sangma which if they tumble out could lead to far more damaging consequences .The whole affair is indeed shrouded in mystery.
Yours etc.,
Donbok Syiemlieh,
Via email
II
Editor,
The breaking news by former State Education Minister , Ampareen Lyngdoh on Nov 13 last, by way of clarifying her stand after more than ten days of being indicted by the CBI for her role in interfering in the selection of Government Teachers’ recruitment sounds like a big joke. Firstly, why did it take more then ten days for her to come out with her version? Secondly, how can she cast aspersions on others? She went on to even defy the CBI report by stating that all that was reported is not gospel truth. Ampareen must realise that the CBI is not a so – called High Level Committee, shamefully constituted by the Government but an agency that had sent people to jail like A Raja ( former Union Minister ) Kalmadi ( IOA President ) former SP leader Amar Singh , Sanjay Dutt ( actor ) Edmund Lyngdoh ( MDC ) and almost caught if not absconding – late Jimmy Bareh and others. What is commonly believed and practised is also that commenting on a matter pending in the court is sub-judice, as the court has not charge sheeted anyone so far nor dismissed the case. So how on earth has Ampareen passed judgement on herself ? What was expected in her press conference is that she would dare the CBI report to the extent of challenging it in the court or to sue the education officials for blaming her and to be bold enough to step down if allegations are proven right. But she chose to defend herself and blame her detractors as being behind the entire drama. By the way, can Ampareen elaborate who are those detractors involved either politically or otherwise? CBI must also live up to its reputation as the long awaited action on its part against the former DG of Police , Mr W Marbaniang’s association in the maid’s murder case has yet to see the light of day. The sincerity of the NGOs who had spearheaded the issue against Ampareen will also be tested. If Justice is further delayed it is almost as certain as justice being denied.
Yours etc.,
Cliff R Sohtun
Shillong -793006 .
Money cannot heal the scars
Editor,
This letter is in connection with the report published in The Shillong Times (November 19, 2012), “Compromise in rape cases intolerable.” Recently there have been many crimes committed against women in Meghalaya especially in Shillong, which was once considered as one of the safest places for women, as the system itself is matrilineal. But looking at the crime committed against women and the accused roaming free within a few days of arrest or with no arrest at all, I wonder whether the authorities are taking these incidents seriously. For instance, one or two months ago within a short span of time the murder of three women in the heart of the city was reported and one of them was even reported to be raped before the actual murder. We all heard of this news which became sensational for a few days, but we did not hear much about the arrest of the culprits and their punishment. I do not deny the existence of the law and order in the State, but the question is how the law and order is being implemented. I suppose law and order is not just about compensating the victims with few thousand rupees, for the greater happiness of the victims would be to see the person/s responsible for the crime is justly punished. After all, money cannot heal the scars that mar a person for life. In some cases neither is the culprit arrested nor is compensation given to the victim. The money lands up in the pockets of the authorities that are supposed to be taking care of the case. With the money in their pockets both from the victim and the culprits they forget to take action against persons who can create worse crimes than ever.
Yours etc.,
Dibacor Sangma
Shillong – 3
Smoking in public
Editor,
Through your esteemed newspaper, I wish to express my views on the topic , ‘In public the cigarette still burns.’ In October 2008 the State Government passed a law which banned smoking in public places. This law was observed by smokers for a few months only. Now people have forgotten the law. Even responsible people are smoking in public places. Non-smokers have to inhale the unwanted smoke in taxis, market places etc, I request all smokers not to smoke in public. I also request the concerned authorities to book and penalise those who break the law.
Yours etc.,
Shatarupa Bhatacharjee
St.Anthony’s College