Last few days, Indian media has again been engulfed with Neeraj Grover murder case which has heightened peoples' interest ; considering the nature of the crime and all the drama it entailed. With Maria Susairaj being released, many people have questioned if justice has been really served.
What intrigues me in this entire episode is not the concern about justice or the strong reactions from the people who feel Maria, being equally responsible for the crime should be hanged. I have full faith in our judiciary system. I am boggled by the the attention Maria Susairaj is receiving, after her release and the way she has successfully managed to manipulate media.
Looking at her photographs in the newspapers was disturbing. The photographs show her walk past the policemen who look at her admiringly, as if she is some great celebrity! The social networking sites have been set aflame by so much interest in Maria's future that the whole issue of her being involved in heinous crime seems to have diluted. There is a lot of buzz layered with awe, about how she bagged some reality show that would fetch her fortune and now that she is a known "celebrity" her future is set to roar. I feel SICK to the core.
I almost threw up while watching Maria Susairaj and her lawyer at the press conference, on television. Her lawyer tried to convince media that the victim's body was not cut into 300 pieces, by presenting a photograph as proof. I found that audacious act of convicted criminal which was carefully staged by her lawyer, absolutely VULGAR!
This is what we have become as society? Nothing affects us? With every passing day, learning about new crimes that shame us as human beings; makes me wonder what is happening to our collective intelligence and conscious? Crime has become such an integral part of our life that we don't find it worth paying attention, more than a few tweets and some status uploads on social networking sites!
In the times when even most gruesome crimes are covered by media in salacious manner to cater the insatiable need of its audience and for its own survival, what can one expect? The Neeraj Grover murder case, I feel, is not only a crime of passion but also a crime of mindless ambition and greed. It doesn't serve to bury our head in sand and ignore the blatant social reality. With every single day, I feel there is great need to contemplate and listen to our conscious that plays great role in determining our character. And by that, I mean, character of not only us as individuals but also as whole society. Let us pause and reflect where we are headed.
