Slow reward for a job done quickly

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: This could be the ultimate paradox - the President and the Prime Minister of the nation receive an e-mail threatening them with death; a team of 17 officers attached to the Hi-Tech Enquiry Cell of the state police cracks the case within hours; an impressed Home Minister announces a reward for their speed and efficiency; and here comes the irony - the reward honouring the officers’ alacrity took almost five years before it  finally finds its way to the owners.It was on the eve of October 30, the penultimate day of the golden jubilee celebrations of the birth of our state, that the then President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh received the e-mails.The sender threatened that the President would be executed on his 76th birthday and the Prime Minister on November 1, during the golden jubilee celebrations. As both of them, along with a galaxy of other VVIPs in and outside the state were scheduled to attend the celebrations on the day, the matter instantly became a news of national importance.The Hi-Tech Enquiry Cell, still in its nascent stage, was given the charge of the probe. Despite the attention of the whole nation riveted on them, the team led by DySP S Vijayan and Assistant Commissioner P H Ashraf did their job in style.In an investigation that lasted for hardly one day, it was revealed that the culprit was a 24-year-old jilted lover named Akbar Raj who wanted to trap the girl who had dumped him, by leaving clues that led to her.Following the incident, which happened in the final days of October 2006, the then Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had announced rewards to each member of the investigation team. However, the government order sanctioning the reward came out only on July 21, 2011.A plethora of factors have, however, changed by now. Some members of the team retired from service, several others moved to other wings of the police. In the meantime, the government even passed a law to constitute a Cyber Police Station and even the government itself changed."The whole incident has produced a comical effect. Most officers have been cracking jokes on the matter ever since the government order came out,’’ said an officer attached to the Cyber Police Station on condition of anonymity.However, everyone did not seem to take the issue with the same spirit. Another officer who is leading a retired life told City Express that he was given a ceremonious send off from the department and hence he did not want to comment on the issue.His only response was, ‘’Better late then never.’’