The situation on the Covid-19 front is not comforting. After a steady decline in cases, reaching an almost negligible level, reports of a Covid-19 resurgence in other countries, especially China, give cause for concern. Other countries from which danger signals have emanated are Japan, South Korea, the United States and Brazil. The worst-case scenario has been reported from Beijing where the Communist Party mouthpiece, The People’s Daily, has urged Chinese citizens to “be the first person responsible for your own health”. China has reportedly ended all its anti-Covid campaigns in the belief that little can be done to fight it. Fatalism as state policy is not at all commendable and India cannot remain complacent.
The way in which the coronavirus, which, perhaps, originated in China, spread over two years ago shows that no borders are impenetrable for it. Fortunately, the Government of India has taken cognisance of the threat and alerted all state governments to take preventive measures. Since understanding the problem is the first step in this direction, the Government wants all Covid-19 cases investigated thoroughly. It is a new strain of Omicron that has raised its ugly head in China and which is expected to spread in India. Since it was an Omicron variant that gripped the nation before the country heaved a sigh of relief over containing it, India is believed to be in a better position to deal with it. Those who suffered from Covid-19 have better immunity to resist it and the vaccines used are also more effective.
Ordinary people would shudder to think about the havoc Covid-19 created in India when tens of thousands of people died and tens of millions lost their livelihood. The economy is yet to pick up since. Another wave is almost impossible to even think about. True, India is in a better position today to deal with any public health crisis as there are more hospital beds, more oxygen plants and cylinders, and better medical knowledge. Also, the production of vaccines can be accelerated depending on the need. One thing that can be promoted is the use of masks which have proved effective in protecting the wearers from the virus. In any case, it is not harmful to wear a mask.
Jailers know Sobhraj better
Glamour and crime sometimes go hand in hand, like in the case of Charles Sobhraj, a French citizen of Indian and Vietnamese parentage. At least that is what many thought when reports about his ‘bikini’ killings, frauds, impersonation and love affairs in jail used to hit the headlines. Only a few who were personally interested in the 78-year-old even knew he had been in a jail in Nepal for the past 17 years. Sobhraj has always been good at exploiting the loopholes in the system. He knew that under Nepal law, he was entitled to early release from the jail as he is a senior citizen now. The court would also have felt pity on him, as he had already completed 17 of the 20-year jail term for murdering two North American girls several decades ago.
Though he was accused of killing 12 or 15 Westerners whom he befriended by providing drugs and then looted and killed, he was convicted of only two murders. And when he ran away from a high-security prison in Delhi, he is reported to have boasted that no jail could hold him for long. Far more entertaining was his love affair while still in jail, proving the point that he was a lady-killer quite literally as well. The Nepalese Supreme Court naturally wants him to be deported to France and not kept on its soil, but it does not realise that Sobhraj is one who can get a machine-gun if he is offered a bullet. The jail authorities have found imperfections in the verdict and have, therefore, not summarily released him. He is one person who does not deserve mercy, as it would be an injustice to those whom he killed ruthlessly.
