 "Does Campa Cola matter more to Deora than a child dead in a mortuary?")
The rusty wheels of the UPA II government have finally started moving to try and secure the release of Capt Sunil James, an Indian sailor, jailed in Togo, West Africa since 20 July on what seems to be trumped-up charges-initially, piracy, which were later dropped thanks to the single-handed efforts of his family, but new charges of ’theft’ alleged. [caption id=“attachment_1271111” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Union Minister Milind Deora. AFP[/caption] While the government seemed to have done precious little since July, what brought about the current flurry of action was public outrage over the fact that Capt James’ 11-month old son Vivaan passed away due to septicaemia on 2 December and there was no chance of his father being there to see him for the last time before being laid to rest, thanks to the Indian government dragging its feet on the matter. Mid-Day, which broke the story way back in September has an
in-depth update
, which quotes the family in crisis, the sympathetic shipping company and the crew management company with whom Capt James was registered and the Indian Ministry of Shipping and Ministry of External Affairs who have finally woken up to the tragedy. The Indian High Commission in Ghana is finally making some efforts since India does not have a diplomatic presence in tiny Togo. The
Indian Express reports
that a court in Togo on Thursday heard the sixth release application filed by the family, which was initially refused. However, Mid-Day states that Capt James’ lawyer’s “..once again moved a petition before the court requesting them to at least release James, and the meeting with the court went on till late evening.” However, no further news was forthcoming. And Business Standard in what
is atrocious reporting
, mixed up his 11-month old and Capt James and ‘killed’ Capt James. Milind Deora, a fellow Mumbaikar, a Mumbai MP and Minister of State for Shipping tweeted in response to the public outrage:
Deora was also quoted by Mid-Day as saying that the Director General of Shipping is exploring whether the shipping company with whom Capt James was employed, could provide any undertaking to the Togo court and permit him to visit India to complete the last rights of his son and return to Togo for the case to be completed. Capt Nilesh Gandhi, Head Fleet Personnel, Accord Marine, the crew management firm, with whom Capt James is registered said that they are ready to take any liability and furnish a bond so Capt James can be released for a short period to perform the last rites of his son and then return to Togo. While the family awaits a miracle so that Capt James can see his 11-month old son for one last time, there is also deep anger. Rakesh Madappa, brother-in-law of Capt James is quoted in Mid-Day: “All we want to ask the Union Government and the honourable elected representative is: Why must a person die, before any action is taken in India?… We put our faith in the Indian Government, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Directorate General Of Shipping India and all our other elected representatives whom we thought would make a difference to us. I am sure I am not alone when I say this. All of them failed my family, failed Sunil, his wife and his only son. This isn’t news. Millions of people are let down in India every single day.” Of course that’s true. Unless you are rich and powerful and can run a high-decibel campaign like those in the Campa Cola Compound where Milind Deora played an active part in trying to save illegal flats despite it being made clear by the Supreme Court itself that residents of the illegal flats knew about the illegalities and were not exactly ‘cheated’ . Deora even took on Maharashtra CM Prithiviraj Chavan who is known for walking the straight line and who refused to bend the law in the case of the Campa Cola issue. Deora went over Chavan’s head to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi herself. That initiative is clearly missing here. Though Deora has responded to the outrage, surely the nation and the family in the midst of a dual tragedy wishes he did more for the sake of an 11-month old who lies now in a cold mortuary.