Riza needed to copy the Ten Commandments, so I went to the Net. With limited literacy skills, the eight-year-old struggled to copy down a chidlren's version. "Okay, 'adultery' means you should not get married twice," I tried knowing how hopeless my attempt was, and hoping that she'd believe it for now.
And, as I went along, as a game of sorts, I just kept mentally ticking off how many commandments I was observing myself. Not that it really mattered, because one doesn't believe in doing things just because of a rule. Fear of punishment (divine wrath, or whatever) is not good enough a reason for good behaviour. Ruth was in a few minutes early. So, I requested a few minutes delay, knowing well that eight-year-olds are wont to sometimes take procastination as a religion. "Can I see the newspaper?" she asked. Oh good, the male chauvinist in me thought sub-consciously. In our times, girls in Goa *never* read papers (and the boys started with the sports page first). Then, the teenager who helps Riza with lessons, told of the shock that had hit their friends circle at college. Two of the five boys accused in the murder of 18-year-old DJ from Vasco, Mandar Surlakar, were from Bardez. They were people-like-us, the boys from next door. All in their early twenties or thereabouts, they came from local schools or colleges, and hung around the hep spots. Everyone knew them. So what could have led them to commit murder? Goa was stunned by the crime. A Goa which is quick to blame the 'outsider' (for malaria, crime, filth, corruption, communalism, anything) had not ready-made answers here. The body of the young man hardly out of his teens was dumped at distant Ponda, not far from where the controversial Nylon 6,6 project was supposed to come up, at Keri. You can imagine how much more traumatic it was here for the students, friends and acquaintances of those who stand charged with having committed the crime. Three of the five boys were law college students, and published a bulletin 'Vox Populi', the newspapers reported. They came from affluent families, and though aged between 19 to 22, had access to plush cars. "One even had a mobile phone costing Rs 35,000," the police let slip, as they do while explaining such hard-to-explain cases to journalists. This story alone dominated 70% of The Navhind Times' frontpage: 'Friends kidnapped and killed Mandar'. 'Money was the motive: police' 'No business rivalry: Mandar's father' 'Rane expresses shock'. Gomantak Times had a photo of the five young men, crouching at the feel of proudly-standing policemen, their heads covered with black cloth. It said: "Abducted boy's pals turn killers. Five accused arrested". The accused were identified as Rohan Pai Dhungat (19) of Vasco, Shaikh Nafiyaz Mamlekar (19) of Vasco, Ryan Pinto (20) of Ucassaim, Al Saleha 'Sunny' Baig (20) of Bicholim and Shankar Tiwari (22) of Housing Board Colony in New Vaddem, Vasco. Sunaparant in Konkani said: "Mandarank jito marlo tachyach panch isthanee" (Mandar was killed by his very own five friends). Gomantak said, "Aphart Mandaracha galaa daboon khoon" and the Gova Doot had photos of four of the accused. The paper known to be close to the BJP has Parrikar blaming chief minister Rane for the rise in crimes, and a photo of Parrikar visiting the Surlakar family in Vasco. Police claimed credit for solving the crime speedily, but the slain victim's father was quoted by the Navhind as saying the police had "made a mistake by releasing" two of the accused "on the day when Mandar was kidnapped". Like much of the headline-hitting crime in Goa, some things simply don't match. Police say the motive of the crime was an attempt to get a Rs 50,00,000 (yes, a fifty lakh rupee!) ransom from Mandar's father, a builder. Even if they got the huge ransom, would they ever hope to escape with the booty from the family of a friend? Chief minister Rane went to the police station. There, he "talked to the five accused" in the kidnapping and murder case. GT reported: "In a few moments, the five youth were brought in the cabin and he (the CM) spoke to them separately for a few minutes even as reporters crowded outside." A late-evening Thursday SMS from Niraj Naik's mobile-based news services says the BJP protest march in Vasco blamed the police for Mandar's murder. At times of crises, everyone wants a quick answer. Rane made a statement saying something to the effect that Goan parents should take responsibility of their children and check whether they goes in "wrong directions". As this case makes it to the headlines and to cyberspace, there is a temptation to conduct a trial-by-media and decide who is the guilty (instead of leaving that job to the courts). After all the sensation it causes, in a little while, Goa will have forgotten this issue too. But is it an indicator of a society in turmoil, unable to cope with change, struggling to cope with affluence? As we move from our outdated traditional value-system are we caught in a vacuum till we find new ones? Is this just a story of who killed whom and why, or a wider one of where our society is going wrong, where we fail to build the coping mechanisms, and why in the rush for 'excellence' our institutions are failing to take care of the very people who don't need to wait till they commit a murder to get some meaning out of an often meaningless life. FN -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
