Delhi Blast Witness Lands In Media Glare

Delhi Blast Witness Lands In Media Glare 18 Jan 2009, 0416 hrs IST, Paulomi G Mehta, TNN NEW DELHI: Four days after the chargesheet for the Barakhamba Road blast was filed, the authorities on Saturday presented before the media a key Varun (face blurred) with other children selected for the award. (TOI Photo) witness in the case, the 12-year-old balloon seller who had seen the two suspected Indian Mujahideen operatives plant the bombs in a dustbin. The provocation for this shocking compromise of witness protection in one of the Delhi terror cases was that Varun (name changed) is among a group of 20 children selected for the National Bravery Award 2008 in connection with Republic Day. The function in which he was the focus of photographers had been organized by the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW). A special cell officer agreed that the boy, who had described suspects Zeeshan Ahmed and Mohammad Sajid before the Batla House encounter, could be testifying during the trial on what he saw on the spot minutes before the September 13 blast. He also conceded that Varun should not have been exposed like this. "Since the boy is not under our protection, anyone looking after him does not need our permission. But he is a witness, and the agency that brought him out into the open for the award should have shown better judgement," he stressed. Twelve people connected with the serial blasts are still on the run. Lawyers feel the cops can't just wash their hands off the boy. "It's the duty of the police to protect a sensitive witness. So what if an NGO is looking after him? The high court and Supreme Court have repeatedly stressed that it's the duty of the police to protect witnesses, especially since there is no focused law in this matter," said Anil Soni, a former Delhi High Court prosecutor. Soni added that with Varun already exposed, it becomes even more important that they should protect the boy. An official of ICCW, the agency that invites applications for the bravery awards, said they had discussed with senior police officers the issue of withholding Varun's identity. "We came to the conclusion that the boy has already been exposed by the media and keeping him away now would be unfair to him. Moreover, he does have 24-hour police protection and hence his safety has been taken care of," the official said. Even in the immediate aftermath of the September 13 serial blasts, Varun's vulnerability was apparent as his identity and photograph were splashed across newspapers and TV channels. At that time, too, ToI had refrained from exposing the boy despite having photographed him and knowing his identity. At the function, Varun had no escort and was answering questions. "I am looked after by an agency and I also study. I like to do paintings. Recently I painted Lord Ganesh in which I showed his mouse running away with a laddoo," he said, breaking into a smile. No elephant ride This year the winners of the National Bravery Award will not go down Rajpath on elephants on January 26. The 20 winners will instead ride an open jeep. President of ICCW Gita Siddhartha announced this at a special meet organized to introduce the winners to the media. She was, however, unable to give any reason for the changed plan. "It was always a hit with the children and it's sad they won't ride on elephants. We don't know why they cancelled it. It's a decision the ministry takes," said Siddhartha.

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