LETTERS: An eye for an eye?

The gunning down of Rahul Raj — the Bihari youth who reportedly tried to take the Mumbai bus passengers hostage as a mark of protest against the MNS attacks on north Indians — by the police is unfortunate and shocking. Whatever reason, the Patna youth’s action is not acceptable and also a bad precedent akin to the culture we see in students in western countries.

The repercussions of the recent MNS attacks on railway candidates are a dangerous trend. Such a cycle of violence should be contained with an iron hand. An eye for an eye cannot be a solution to any issue. An immediate booking of the guilty is the only way to arrest the growing dangerous trends of atrocities in the country.

The Maharashtra’s government’s high-level probe into Monday’s shooting incident is welcome. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh is really standing tall for his bold and immediate action in the shoot-out incident. At least now, the MNS chief Raj Thackeray should realise the dangerous consequences of his narrow-minded politics and speeches. He should take up the cause of Marathi-speaking people through proper forum such as the media and, of course, general elections.

P Senthil Saravana Durai, Hyderabad