http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1723053,00120002.htm
One wonders why this journalist thinks anybody would take this piece at face value
What about foul play? (((Hey yeah, what about it?)))
Between us | Pankaj Vohra
June 18, 2006
The Mahajan saga continues to haunt the BJP, which, despite repeated noises of support for Rahul Mahajan by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, continues to maintain its distance from the prominent players in the case.
Perhaps it knows well that the headache caused by the hangover of the cocaine-champagne-heroin cocktail is likely to last some time. The twin episodes – the first involving Pramod Mahajan and his brother Pravin, and the second featuring Bibek Moitra, Rahul Mahajan and Sahil Zaroo with some others – have raised a lot of questions. For reasons best known to the police agencies, the political and financial dimensions of the cases have not been probed so far.
The episode on the night of June 1 has brought into focus how from the very beginning a cover-up had begun. This apparently took place with the active connivance of the Apollo Hospital authorities, whose conduct would have greatly embarrassed those who have taken the Hippocratic oath. ((("First of all, do no harm," especially to the reputation of a major political player.)))
It is a matter of surprise (((no it isn't))) that the Delhi Police have
so far failed to arrest Apollo staff members ((("Cops bust doctors because young politico snorts heroin," no, I'm not buying it, Indian cops aren't that dumb))) who wilfully engaged in distorting facts and suppressing vital information while projecting a totally erroneous picture of Rahul's recovery. The possibility of the staff succeeding in their objective would have been very strong had Bibek Moitra not died due to overdose of drugs (((that's right; if not for the unfortunate dead guy, nobody would have known a thing))) which he voluntarily consumed or was made to consume. (((Kind of an important distinction made right here, one would think. Bibek certainly didn't intend to consume a lethal dose of heroin.)))
On the first day of the incident, Gopinath Munde, Rahul's uncle and senior BJP leader, had spoken about a conspiracy and alleged foul play. However, since Rahul's release from hospital, Munde has not repeated the charge. (((So if it was a set-up, the poisoners got away clean. Personally, I'm waiting for the next BJP player to drop dead. I don't think I'm going to have to wait very long.)))
Nevertheless, the police must look into all aspects. (((Says who?))) After all, the case is in the public domain (((so what?))) and from the accused to the doctors, everyone has tried to hold a press conference to project viewpoints, whether right or wrong, misleading or deceptive. (((Of course they did that. By now, they've probably all got weblogs.)))
A debate has been raging in the media on the failure of the police to recover adequate quantities of drugs from the accused. (((Blame the cops for work that probably ought to be done by reporters.))) There have been conjectures that the police case was very weak, and that Rahul deserved sympathy and should not be treated as a criminal. (((That's right: the case against the kid is pretty weak. No cop was intending to bust him for drugs, There's no dope in the house, the servants cleaned up, there's mostly circumstantial evidence and the dead guy can take most of the blame. So the kid is out on bail now, and he's probably gonna walk. How long Rahul Mahajan stays on his feet without somehow getting dead is a really interesting question.)))
Mahajan's staff and his friends who chose to take Rahul and Moitra to Apollo ignored the fact that there were three hospitals within a 3-km radius of 7, Safdarjung Road, and took them 16 kilometres away to Apollo. It is possible that had the two been taken to a hospital nearby, Moitra would have survived. At Apollo, the doctors did not immediately inform the police and took over two hours to do so. The sachet containing heroin was handed over
to the police by the hospital staff, and the police had no way of knowing if it was the only sachet recovered from the person of the deceased and the accused. The MLC was prepared in the absence of a police official and the entry and exit records of the hospital were found to have been fudged. (((!)))
Investigations have revealed that Rahul gained consciousness by 6.30 am on June 2 but was wheeled into the ICU from emergency and put on ventilator though his breathing was not a cause of concern anymore. (((They were hiding the poisoned politician in the oxygen tent. Man, it must be great to have a friendly hospital. I can't imagine any American hospital being this accommodating, not even to a Kennedy.)))
He was kept in the ICU, but several tests that should have been conducted were not. ((("Shall we test him, doctor?" "He's full of smack!" "Oh well, never mind then.")))
The hospital then held a press conference to give an erroneous impression about his health. In the ICU, Mahajan Jr had a diet high on protein, highly unusual for someone in an ICU. ((("He's nodding out! I don't care if he's Hindu, stuff some hamburgers into him!"))) Yet, the police could not question him because the hospital insisted he was unfit to make a statement. (((These docs are heroic, really.)))
It is also an uncanny coincidence that Rahul's bill was settled by Raji Chandru, the hospital administrator who had done the same when Rahul was admitted to Apollo in 2002, for what is now
being described as meningitis. (((Oh well – the supposed "meningitis" incident. Jeez, that explains everything. Unless you surmise that "meningitis" was not an earlier drug-freakout but an earlier attempt to murder him.)))
In short, the investigations suffered due to Apollo's non-cooperation. (((I think "active obstruction of justice" is a better description here – they even altered the admission logs.))) But where the police deserve flak is why they have failed to probe the foul play angle in Moitra's death. It is true that Moitra died of drug overdose but did he wilfully consume the huge quantity? (((Right. Good question. The press should find that out.)))
It is an open secret that Moitra was privy to Pramod Mahajan's political and financial dealings and getting him out of the way may have served the purpose of those who may not necessarily have been present when the drugs were consumed. (((Well, there's a motive. Now how about the means and opportunity?)))
The police must also scrutinise the cellphone records of the accused, and Moitra's links with drug suppliers must be investigated. (((It's the *murderers'* possible links to the drug suppliers that ought to be investigated. Who put the smack into the cocaine? Are clumsy Nigerian pushers wandering around India selling rich kids lethal hot-shots? Are there a lot of other dead Indian rich kids around?)))
(((For instance, when somebody taints the flow of heroin with
lethal fentanyl, there tends to be a *rather general* trail
of dead users, not just a couple of poisoned politicians.)))
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_167192050.html
Utter fentanyl mayhem in the eager American junkie population
It is also strange that Rahul chose to address a press conference while his case was in court. (((No it isn't.))) The episode has also brought into focus how extra-judicial methods are being used by some of the players to give a twist to the investigations. (((Not to mention the many extra-judicial methods that have been used to politically destroy the BJP since they were driven from power.))) One is willing to believe that Rahul is not a drug dependent, but what about the CFSL findings? Either he is lying or the CFSL is. The mystery will be solved by a thorough investigation.
(((For those just tuning in from outside the subcontinent, here's a handy CNN explanation as to "why India matters.")))
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/06/18/india.influence.tm.tm/index.html
India, the 'un-China.' Okay, I guess that lame tag will do, for now
