Writers seek repeal of death penalty

HYDERABAD: Several social activists, writers and intellectuals have urged the central government to scrap the death sentence from the Indian penal laws.Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, they recalled that more than 100 countries had abolished death sentence and India too signed a treaty of the United Nations against death penalty.Varavara Rao of Revolutionary Writers' Association opposed the death sentence awarded by a Ranchi court to poet and people's artiste Jiten Marandi and his associates Anil Ram, Manoj Rajwar and Chhatrapati Mandal.He said they were also opposing the death penalty to three accused in the Rajiv Gandhi murder case and Afzal Guru in the Parliament attack case.Film director and producer R Narayana Murthy termed the death sentence on Marandi as a "brutal act".Sentencing singers and poets to death was like hanging democracy and those fighting for the rights of Adivasis, he said and appealed to the President to repeal Marandi's death sentence.The writers and intellectuals are organising a meeting at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram here on August 30 to register their protest against the death sentence on four artistes.Marandi's wife Aparna Marandi and others will address the gathering.Writers and singers Devi Priya, Yacoob, K Pratap Reddy, Dappu Ramesh, Telangana Journalists Forum leader Ramesh Hajari and others were present at the press conference.The Case of Jiten MarandiA sessions court in the state of Jharkhand stunned the nation by slapping a death sentence on Jiten Marandi, a very popular artiste and his three associates who were much loved and admired by people.Marandi was arrested in the case of the murder of Anup Marandi, the son of former chief minister Babulal Marandi.Maoists claimed responsibility for the murder and the police charge-sheeted some known Maoists.The name of one such person happened to be Jiten Marandi.This became handy to the police to implicate artiste Marandi to cover up their failure to apprehend the Maoist Marandi, writers and intellectuals explained to the media.The death sentence was pending before the Jharkhand High Court for confirmation."It is a shame on the part of our government which still wants to hand out the death sentence to eliminate those who oppose their unjust and undemocratic rule, when more than a hundred countries have done away with the death penalty.The death sentence on Jiten Marandi and his three associates is against the people of this country.We should raise our voice to abolish death sentence from Indian penal law," said Vara Vara Rao.