To circus, we go!

  To circus we go

A Murder - that I am sure of and a botched up investigation - that too is certain. The media did a commendable job by hounding the authorities to stop the case from going into the garbage dump of unsolved and covered up cases. The case became an international movement. Support came pouring in from across the world demanding justice for Sushant. The authorities were forced to hand over the case to the CBI. The day a favourable judgement was passed was celebrated as a personal victory day even as Sushant's handsome face smiled from the sidelines. It broke my heart! The victory was for the people for whom it had become a national obsession. The victory was for the warring channels who didn’t fail to claim ad nauseam that they were the first to start the movement so rightfully deserved to take the victory lap. The victory was for the family who had lost their only son who will never be whole again. What it wasn’t was justice for Sushant. He has become a national pastime and investigative fodder for the wannabe detectives of the virtual realm. 

Now the case is being investigated. All the parties involved in the case are being investigated. Continuous interrogation and evidence collection is going on. But it saddens me to see how rival channels have let their hounds with cameras and a mic loose on the streets of Mumbai. Every movement outside of the safety of the homes of the involved individuals has become a nightmare. They can’t even go to the offices of the CBI without being waylaid by the rain soaked reporters. They bang onto their car windows, they block their movement, they thrust their mics into their mouths, they push into their faces all the time expecting them to tell them that yes they are somehow involved in Sushant's murder. The questions asked are stupid and akin to harassment. ‘Did you kill Sushant?’ ‘What did the CBI ask you?’ ‘ Did you take all his money?’ ‘ Why aren’t you saying something?’

Well I am just a diploma holder in Journalism but common sense tells me that even if they are guilty of some wrongdoing they will not confess to it on the roadside trying to get into their car where a reporter is forcibly holding the car door ajar. They will not nod their head and say yes they are the culprits. So why this wasted exercise. It only makes them look like circus clowns. Its like a scene from the handmaids tale where the offender sits inside a circle and all the other women stand encircling her accusing her and cursing her some even slap her. 

At this stage its important to wait for some real breaking news before flashing trivial information on screens. There should be a system of proper media briefing by the officials so that this movement doesn’t become a street brawl demeaning the very purpose for which it was started. The power of the people is immense and can move mountains. A revolution to take down the entitled lot who go on living under the smug knowledge that they are above the system and will never come under the radar has started, powered by the people and the media - social, print and TV. Because of our foolish quest to rush up the process and hang the guilty all this will be jeopardised. Responsible journalism and well informed opinions are the need of the hour to prevent a collapse of the civilised structure and ensure systemic changes for fair application of the law.