The murder of innocent children
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Shamsher Chowdhury
Some 2000 innocent children died by taking toxic Paracetamol of five companies between 1980 and 1992. The cases involving the companies and their owners have continued to slip through the fingers of the law enforcing agencies and whoever was entrusted to bring them to justice. A leading daily has alleged that corruption has sabotaged the cases and has also rightly pointed out that the recourse to delaying judicial tactics of taking court stay orders has been preventing the cases from being tried.
In the meantime, the bereaved families of those dead continue to pass their days wailing and in grief. Amidst such a heart-rendering environment, the case against one of the companies by the name Adflame reopened on November 11, 2009 which apparently took the lives of 76 children some 16 years ago. As reported even in this case, the witness has not only become hostile but also began to give statements defending all the involved five companies.
To put it bluntly, this is not only disgusting but also puts the entire nation to shame. Have we no conscience? Have money and graft, like in many other criminal cases, blocked the path of justice or is there more to it? The story would have been different had a single child of the mighty or the powerful been one of the victims; the culprit or the culprits would have been hauled up and justice meted out in the shortest possible time. This apparently falls in the category of crimes against humanity. The only difference between these deaths and those of the Jews in Hitler's holocaust is in the number and the manner in which they were killed.
Over 19 years have passed we are still struggling to bring to book and punish these soulless criminals of the worst kind. Is the death of the 76 innocent children of lesser consequence than the death of those who die on a regular basis at the hands of all kinds of criminals, often driven by political rivalries, tussle over land grabbing, property disputes including family feuds? Why these innocent children had to give their lives? What offences did they commit? Nothing perverts the cause of justice than selective justice.
Today there is so much talk of justice and judiciary -- from speedy dispensation of justice to creating new laws to try criminals of all sorts and dimension -- but sadly though it has failed to assure people of justice. It is all a mumbo jumbo and full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Can the administration tell us with any degree of honesty that there has been any tangible progress towards making the society free of criminal acts of all nature including looting, mugging, murder and terror acts, raping of women so and so forth? But our experience is that if the police put their minds in doing something the right way, they are even now capable of finding a needle in the haystack in the shortest possible time.
In all this, what is also of grave concern, is the attitude of some of our so-called educated and well-informed members of the civil society. Whenever the topic of injustice in the society comes up for discussion, many of them come up with such responses as: "Look, you worry too much with what is happening around you. We are here to have some friendly discussions and enjoy each other's company hence do not talk of deaths of any kind." Which way are we are heading? Have we no fear of God? We all -- the rich, the powerful, the guilty and the innocent -- have to die some day and on the Day of Judgment we all have to individually fend for ourselves, none will come to our aid.
For the first time in our life we are losing faith in the people and those who are in charge of governance of this country. The people at the helm of affairs of the country appear to be ever so complacent, deaf and blind about injustices being perpetrated right under their nose.
We are on the path of ruination. Our morality and ethics have been shattered. Instead of marching forward, we are going backward to the medieval age. The more we cry for justice the more it seems to elude us. A handful of arrogant people are playing havoc with our dignity and honour. They are getting by doing anything and everything against the common man. How long will this continue? Can any one tell us?
E-mail : chowdhury. shamsher@yahoo.com
Some 2000 innocent children died by taking toxic Paracetamol of five companies between 1980 and 1992. The cases involving the companies and their owners have continued to slip through the fingers of the law enforcing agencies and whoever was entrusted to bring them to justice. A leading daily has alleged that corruption has sabotaged the cases and has also rightly pointed out that the recourse to delaying judicial tactics of taking court stay orders has been preventing the cases from being tried.
In the meantime, the bereaved families of those dead continue to pass their days wailing and in grief. Amidst such a heart-rendering environment, the case against one of the companies by the name Adflame reopened on November 11, 2009 which apparently took the lives of 76 children some 16 years ago. As reported even in this case, the witness has not only become hostile but also began to give statements defending all the involved five companies.
To put it bluntly, this is not only disgusting but also puts the entire nation to shame. Have we no conscience? Have money and graft, like in many other criminal cases, blocked the path of justice or is there more to it? The story would have been different had a single child of the mighty or the powerful been one of the victims; the culprit or the culprits would have been hauled up and justice meted out in the shortest possible time. This apparently falls in the category of crimes against humanity. The only difference between these deaths and those of the Jews in Hitler's holocaust is in the number and the manner in which they were killed.
Over 19 years have passed we are still struggling to bring to book and punish these soulless criminals of the worst kind. Is the death of the 76 innocent children of lesser consequence than the death of those who die on a regular basis at the hands of all kinds of criminals, often driven by political rivalries, tussle over land grabbing, property disputes including family feuds? Why these innocent children had to give their lives? What offences did they commit? Nothing perverts the cause of justice than selective justice.
Today there is so much talk of justice and judiciary -- from speedy dispensation of justice to creating new laws to try criminals of all sorts and dimension -- but sadly though it has failed to assure people of justice. It is all a mumbo jumbo and full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Can the administration tell us with any degree of honesty that there has been any tangible progress towards making the society free of criminal acts of all nature including looting, mugging, murder and terror acts, raping of women so and so forth? But our experience is that if the police put their minds in doing something the right way, they are even now capable of finding a needle in the haystack in the shortest possible time.
In all this, what is also of grave concern, is the attitude of some of our so-called educated and well-informed members of the civil society. Whenever the topic of injustice in the society comes up for discussion, many of them come up with such responses as: "Look, you worry too much with what is happening around you. We are here to have some friendly discussions and enjoy each other's company hence do not talk of deaths of any kind." Which way are we are heading? Have we no fear of God? We all -- the rich, the powerful, the guilty and the innocent -- have to die some day and on the Day of Judgment we all have to individually fend for ourselves, none will come to our aid.
For the first time in our life we are losing faith in the people and those who are in charge of governance of this country. The people at the helm of affairs of the country appear to be ever so complacent, deaf and blind about injustices being perpetrated right under their nose.
We are on the path of ruination. Our morality and ethics have been shattered. Instead of marching forward, we are going backward to the medieval age. The more we cry for justice the more it seems to elude us. A handful of arrogant people are playing havoc with our dignity and honour. They are getting by doing anything and everything against the common man. How long will this continue? Can any one tell us?
E-mail : chowdhury. shamsher@yahoo.com