Who Killed Jessica Lal or Who Set Her Killers Free?

Jessica Lal died 7 years ago. Shot in front of 100 people, many of them Page 3 celebs. Three days ago, a judge freed all the presumed assassins for want of sufficient evidence.

What ensued is nothing less than remarkable: a city known for its apathy and lack of heart woke up from its slumber and sprung into action. Outrage poured from every nook and corner and every weapon available was put into use - TV programmes, press articles, SMS campaigns, blog campaigns; the buzz was so loud that even the High Court took notice of it and asked for explanations.

One may wonder at all this buzz. Maybe because for once, everyone felt threatened. Jessica Lal could be one of us. For once, it was not a crime that one felt happened to others; that bullet could have struck anyone in this city that thrives on its private parties, where women have recently earned the right to tend bars, and the striker is very much part of our capital, where connected people exist in droves and are part and parcel of its celeb life!

Many murders happen in Delhi, but one always has a way to disassociate oneself from them. But with Jessical Lal, things have taken on a different hue, and maybe there is also a sense of guilt as we are all part of this system that killed her. Numerous have been the times when I have had to fight with my own to reach out to someone in need. The Delhi motto is akin to the Gandhian monkeys perfected to an art - we have stopped seeing, hearing, talking, in a word, caring!

It is human nature that gets a long overdue vindication when one sees the buzz around this case, and even if some cynics may feel it is short lived or attention seeking, at least something woke this city out of its slumber. Kudos to the system which found its teeth and initiated action.

I have always believed in the power of our institutions and felt helpless at how little we use them. Ours is also a city that thrives on breaking rules and laws and has created a hydra-headed monster that we ourselves are finding difficult to slay.

I know its is not easy to get things done without paying bribes, but they get done eventually. The line between 'facilitation' money and a bribe is thin, and then the floodgates open, so bribes are paid for just anything. Today we are all collectively responsible for Jessical Lal's murderers being free.

Yes, the buzz around Jessical Lal's murder is great but it should not stop there. It is not just a matter of getting her murderers behind bars but of changing our ways and accepting to live within a system and its laws. It is also time to understand that corruption and the other things that ail India can only be reversed when we take collective responsibility and the necessary action. I hope this case sets the tone for times to come.

The death of this lovely girl should be translated into a befitting act by a city that carries the guilt of her having been denied justice.