Lucky devil
Sir — Pacts with the devil are part of many urban myths. But some people seem to be in Lucifer’s good graces even without such a deal. One such person perhaps is Thomas Creech, a serial killer in the United States of America, who has been on death row for more than 40 years. Officials scheduled to carry out his execution via lethal injection recently failed to do so as they were unable to establish an intravenous line to inject the fatal dose despite several attempts by medical professionals. Creech’s life may have thus been extended for a while. One wonders whether the devil is acting as his guardian angel.
Rajbir Dutta, Howrah
Caught, at last
Sir — The Trinamul Congress leader and party strongman, Sheikh Shahjahan, who had been on the run for 54 days, was finally arrested by the West Bengal Police (“Sandeshkhali erupts in joy”, Mar 1). He has been sent to police custody for 10 days. Interestingly, Shahjahan had been at large since an Enforcement Directorate team that went to raid his house was attacked by a mob on January 5; he was only taken into custody days after the Calcutta High Court stated that it had placed no restriction on his arrest. Does this not indicate that the Mamata Banerjee-led government had been trying to shield him from the barrage of complaints of land grabbing and sexual abuse? One wonders how many criminals are being protected by the TMC ecosystem. Whether the people of Sandeshkhali will get justice in a country where predators like Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh still roam free remains to be seen.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad
Sir — The arrest of Sheikh Shahjahan has been hailed by TMC leaders as the party’s ‘dedication to rajdharma’. Abhishek Banerjee has been projected as a hero for pointing out the legal hurdle to his arrest (“TMC portrays arrest as ‘dedication to rajdharma’, Mar 1). In reality, the delay in his arrest was a mockery of justice. Shahjahan was protected owing to his political influence. If the TMC had truly been sincere, the court’s supposed ‘ban’ would not have stopped the police from nabbing him.
Jahar Saha, Calcutta
Sir — It is disheartening that Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested only after the Calcutta High Court censured the state authorities. The swagger with which Shahjahan entered the premises of a local court suggests his fearlessness in front of the law. His crimes cannot be masked by the TMC’s assurance that he has been suspended for six years. Why did the party wait till he was arrested to suspend him? Several fact-finding teams have heard accounts of horrifying crimes that were being perpetrated in Sandeshkhali. The police deserve to be condemned for not taking timely action against Shahjahan and his associates.
Abhijit Roy, Jamshedpur
Sir — Sheikh Shahjahan was only arrested after the Calcutta High Court rebuked the police for the delay in taking action. This comes more than 50 days after the attack on Enforcement Directorate officials in Sandeshkhali portrayed Shahjahan as some sort of a mass hero. His arrest before the general elections is a desperate attempt by the TMC to save face.
Jayanta Datta, Hooghly
Sir — By suspending Sheikh Shahjahan for six years, the ruling TMC has finally taken action against the tainted leader. His rampant abuse of power is symptomatic of an entrenched culture of political violence and persecution which has existed in West Bengal since the days of the Left Front. The impunity enjoyed by hoodlums highlights the need for systemic reforms to ensure the protection of citizens’ rights (“First step”, Mar 1). The onus is now on the state government to ensure that the investigation against Shahjahan is carried out in a fair and time-bound manner.
Khokan Das, Calcutta
