Sunday, January 30, 2011

Editorial on the murder of Sonawane

The failings of the criminal justice system was exposed again when Yashwant Sonawane's attempt to expose the fuel mafia lead to his gruesome murder. From cHindu's editorial
By one reckoning, 40 per cent of kerosene is stolen during transportation from depots to retail outlets. Estimates of the value of this organised racket, which also sees quite a bit of the kerosene used to adulterate diesel, exceed Rs.10,000 crore a year nationally. The fraud seems to be growing in direct correlation to the rise in fuel prices.

Why we have to wait for an attack of an official to jump into action is simply inexplicable?
cHindu and the media's short lived attention spans in bringing the criminals to justice highlights MSM's abilities to have the intellectual focus of a 2 year old.
In closing the next steps suggested in the editorial shows what has become modern India's solution to any problem, sweep it under the rug.
The crackdown that is on now and the arrest of all ten suspects in the murder of Mr. Sonawane are positive signs. The hope is that Union Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy's resolve to curb the adulteration menace will not prove short-lived. A great deal of work waits to be done on the ground, and a start can be made by acting on the Supreme Court's 2001 suggestion of an additional agency to carry out independent checks and actions in the fuel sector.

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