Time for restrictions
It’s high time that the US government should restrict the use of guns to save innocent lives (“Horrified students beg adults to do something about guns”, Gulf News, February 18). It is very sad that 17 students have lost their lives in Florida. In the year 2012, 20 students were massacred in Newtown, Connecticut. The law makes it very easy to purchase a gun, and unless there is restriction for the purchase of guns, unfortunate incidents may happen. These merciless killings should be stopped. The US government upholds the protection and safety of human rights, but as of gun laws, it is silent. In the past, almost every year there has been a shooting in a school. Students should go to school fearlessly. Let’s hope the US government will change its policy and restrict the usage of guns.
From Mr Eappen Elias
Dubai
A lost cause
I have lost count of the number of times I have written to Gulf News in the past decade when a shooting incident occurred in the US. On various occasions, I have condemned the attacks, empathised with the victims, theorised why the current laws are not effective in averting attacks, urged the authorities for stricter gun control, proposed how psychological support can prevent vulnerable people from going overboard and finally expressed my utter helplessness. Now, what I feel is total resignation. No one can help people who are steadfast on destroying themselves.
From Ms Sajida Kamal
Abu Dhabi, UAE
We want proper justice
It is likely that the charges against the accused Kerala superstar, Dileep, will become weak in coming days, not because of his innocence but because of the complications in our existing criminal justice system in India (“A year later, Dileep’s trial yet to begin”, Gulf News, February 19). The production of evidence is a formidable task, especially when it comes to crimes related to conspiracy. Even though the police could produce evidence against the accused, it is very difficult to establish the case in court of laws. Apart from that, according to the information available at the public domain, the victim never mentioned the involvement of Dileep in the crime directly. If a victim like an influential actress is not getting due justice, imagine what would have happened to an underprivileged person in a similar situation? This case will not act as a morale booster for the investigating officers any more. At least the police could keep the accused actor, after producing convincing evidence to public, in jail for 85 days. This would send a clear message to the film fraternity that they are not above the law. However, the judiciary has a duty to keep the public trust with the criminal justice system. The public is expecting a fair prosecution, judgment and punishment by taking into account the severity of crime, public anger and also pain and humiliation suffered by the young actress. We are fed up with hearing judgments that the prosecution failed miserably to prove the involvement of the accused.
From Mr Girish R Edathitta
UAE
Scope for improvement
After a few blunders, especially in the second test, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and his team have bounced back to win the final test to restore some of their lost pride (“Kohli bags rare ‘double’ in ICC rankings”, Gulf News, February 21). The first two test defeats, which was our team’s practice matches, brought out their best, not only during the final test, but in the first three One Day International’s (ODI) too. Though they failed to win the fourth ODI, Kohli and his team proved to be the best, especially with their bowling unit, to win the fifth tie, and achieve a series triumph in 25 years. With this series win, our team recaptured their world ranking too. At the same time, there are some grey areas like running between wickets, catching and giving ‘no balls’, which need to be ironed out before the World Cup in 2019. Incidentally, our Under 19 (U-19) World Cup team has some youngsters who could definitely get into the shoes of our seniors. Congratulations to Mithali Raj, captain of the Indian women’s cricket team for winning the One Day series in South Africa and also for continuing to shine in the Twenty 20 series too. We wish both Kohli and Raj the best in their remaining matches.
From Mr N. Mahadevan
India
Paying a price
This is the tragic outcome when people fail to respect their marriage and cheat on their spouse (“Man blinded for eloping with employer’s wife”, Gulf News, Published 19). If the woman was unhappy with her husband, she should have sought divorce so that she would be able to marry her new partner instead of eloping with him. This man on the other hand, instead of being grateful to be given employment, ditched his employer. Although very sad, this man is paying a price for his selfishness
From Ms Fatima Suhail
Sharjah
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