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• Reaction to Savage Murder

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CM SEEKS REPORT ON PAPIYA CASE
RAMASHANKAR
6 DECEMBER 2006, HINDUSTAN TIMES, PATNA.
 

Four days after brutal murder of Prof Papiya Ghosh, a noted historian and Teacher of Patna University, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday sought information about the progress of investigation into the case from Director General of Police (DGP) AR Sinha.
The Chief Minister called the DGP at 1, Anne Marg and sought detailed information about the police investigation. Sinha reportedly informed the Chief Minister that the police case and the criminals would be brought to book in a couple of days.
Home Secretary Afzal Ammunullah confirmed that the DGP had gone to 1, Anne Marg to brief the Chief Minister about the development in the Papiya Ghosh killing case.
"On the very first day when the CM got information about the incident, he had directed to police to solve the case. The Home Secretary said that police investigation gave hints of the involvement of some close acquaintances of the deceased teacher. He said that Papiya's sister Tuktuk Ghosh an IAS officer of West Bengal cadre and her husband met him on Wednesday. "I assured them that the case will be brought to its logical conclusion," he added. According to highly placed sources, the CM has set a three-day deadline for the State Police Chief to solve the case or face the music.
 

CPI (ML) SEEKS CBI PROBE
8 DECEMBER 2006, TIMES NEWS NETWORK, PATNA.
 

CPI (ML) MLA, Amar Nath Yadav on Friday said in the House that his Party wants a CBI probe into the matter.

The NDA appeared undeterred by charges that a “ruling party MLA” could be involved in Papiya’s murder. “The police are doing their job. It hardly matters if the MLA is from the ruling party or the Opposition Party. If he is involved, he will be nabbed. Our regime believes that no-body is above the law, even if he is an MLA of the Ruling Party,” remarked NDA’s Chief Whip in the Assembly, Shrawan Kumar.

“So far, the investigations have not revealed that Papiya intended to sell off her house or was ever approached on this count by anyone. There is nothing to suggest that she even knew any politicians,” remarked a senior Minister. He said that the Opposition was just giving vent to its frustration as it had suffered a debacle in the recent by polls.

However, the ruling Party MLAs feel that only the arrest of Papiya’s killers will end the mindless speculations being made in the case.
 

PAPIYA MURDER: NO BREAKTHROUGH YET
PRANAVA K CHAUDHARY & ALOK MISHRA
9 DECEMBER 2006, TIMES OF INDIA.
 

Patna : "Justice for Jessica", cried the country and the Court of law prodded policemen into action. Cries for justice for Patna University's Prof Papiya Ghosh, who was stabbed to death along with her elderly maid in a posh Patna Colony on Saturday night, seems to be falling on deaf ears.

Five days on, the Patna police have not been able to identify either the culprits or their motive.

Restive and angry, Papiya's colleagues and friends across the world have approached Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. "The Central Government should take charge of the investigation, given the evident collusion between local political and criminal elements that resulted in the horrible murder of Papiya and her domestic help," their Memorandum to the PM reads. The signatories include University Teachers and Research Fellows of Delhi University, JNU, Nehru Museum Memorial Library, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, School of Oriental and African Studies, London and a few UK and US Universities. The Memorandum has been circulated all over the world through e-mail.

Teachers, colleagues and friends of Papiya have also planned to assemble at Teen Murti House in New Delhi on December 18 and ascertain how to bring the culprits to book. Local academicians, positively receptive to the talks of "sushasan" or good governance under the new NDA regime till the other day, are no less furious now.

"The new regime is the product of the same forces which ruled the roost previously. Only the 'raja' has changed," fumed noted sociologist Hetukar Jha.

An ardent admirer of Papiya's scholarly abilities, Jha is pained that CM, Nitish Kumar did not utter a single word to console the bereaved family members during the last five days.

TEACHERS TO STRIKE WORK FOR CBI PROBE
V K TRIPATHI
10 DECEMBER 2006, HINDUSTAN TIMES, PATNA.
 

All India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisation (AIEUCTO) has given a call for a one-day strike by University and College Teachers on December 14 to press various demands including a CBI inquiry into the gruesome murder of Patna University Teacher Papiya Ghosh.

About 33,000 non-Teaching employees of nine Universities of the State will also go on mass leave the same day in support of their demands.

The AIEUCTO's strike call was endorsed by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Federation of University Teachers' Association of Bihar and Federation of University (Services) Teachers' Association of Bihar at its meeting held on Sunday.

The JAC also decided to stage a Dharna at the University Headquarters on December 14 with Teachers wearing black badges as a mark of protest against the incident and also the inability of the police to arrest the criminals even a week after the incident. JAC Joint Convener, Prof AKP Yadav, said Papiya's killing had exposed the poor law and order situation in the State Capital and caused a fear psychosis among the Teachers.
 

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