Brat Pack

What we do know is that the sons of a prosperous MP, an auto designer, a movie mogul and a friend were partying together, in a city that the brat pack regards as the great Indian playground. Three of the young men were 22, one a year older.

It’s great that they are such achievers at their young ages. But achievement without maturity — or significant responsibility — is a dangerous thing. Especially when you are in a city that governs you lightly and expects you to be responsible in a way no Indian city wo-uld. But if you are not responsible, the emirate will crack down in a way no Indian city could.

Two of the Dubai four still in custody might not have a future. Dubai does not identify suspects until verdicts are pronounced. From the dribbles of information emerging, it might be that two of the four tested positive for drug use. The consequences could now mean life imprisonment. End of story.

So why does India’s brash frat think it can get away with anything? Simply because, in India, what you get away with is often a function of who your father is. They are led to believe — if not taught — by their fathers that power and pelf are what life is all about. The consequences of their actions can be managed.

They are usually right. Sons of the rich and powerful have mowed down policemen in Delhi, cheated small investors in Mumbai — and gotten away with it. Their consequences are limited to an initial notoriety and a few nights on cold, stone floors.

But once the headlines fade, witnesses turn hostile. Once investigating officers are changed, loopholes being to appear. Once the Indian legal system begins its long grind, the ones who usually get crushed are the victims.

It is possible to have an irresponsible moment and be responsible for the consequences. Fardeen Khan is one such example (see case study). He had money, he had power, but he owned up to his irresponsible moment.

We do not know if the Dubai four will own up to their irresponsible moment. We do not know if it was indeed one irresponsible moment or a pattern of irresponsible behaviour.

The stories you will read on these pages involve dramatically more heinous crimes than the toke in Dubai. The difference — as the brash frat is finding out — is in those irksome things it rarely think about: consequences.

Guns, women and life in the fast lane. Throw in a powerful papa, and consequences can be damned — or delayed. By CHITRA SUBRAMANYAM

Vikas Yadav Age 28

WHO’S HE: Son of Rajya Sabha member D P Yadav

THE CASE: On February 16, 2002, Nitish Katara, a 24-year-old business executive and son of a deceased IAS officer, disappeared from Diamond Palace in Kavi Nagar, Ghaziabad, where he was attending a friend’s wedding. The police arrested Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal on charges on kidnapping Nitish. Their accomplice Sukhdeo continues to be absconding. After Nitish’s badly mutilated body was found in Bulundshahr, Uttar Pradesh, police officials alleged that the Yadav cousins had abducted and murdered Nitish because they did not approve of his friendship with Vikas’s sister Bharti. He has been charged with murder, conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

STATUS TODAY: According to G K Bharti, Vikas’s lawyer, 75 per cent of witnesses in the case have been examined. The court has ruled that until Vikas’s sister takes the stand, the two (accused) cannot apply for bail.

Sanjeev Nanda Age 24

WHO’S HE: Grandson of former Navy chief Admiral S N Nanda

THE CASE: On January 10, 1999, Sanjeev Nanda, a British national, allegedly ran over six people — including three policemen — on Lodhi Road, New Delhi, while speeding in his BMW. Nanda was allegedly with friends, Manik Kapoor and Siddharth Gupta, and was reportedly under the influence of alcohol. He was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. During the trial, three key witnesses turned hostile and retracted their statements in court.

STATUS TODAY: According to Nanda’s lawyer R K Anand, ‘‘The case is in the final stages, and is pending in court.’’ Nanda is out on bail. On June 1, 2001, the Delhi High Court allowed Nanda to go to the US for 22 days for an 18-day workshop after he had submitted a personal bond and two sureties. The amount was reduced later from Rs 45 crore to a personal bond of Rs 5 crore and three sureties totalling Rs 14 crore.

Santosh Kumar Singh Age 30s

WHO’S HE: Son of J P Singh, IPS, who retired as joint commissioner of police, Delhi

THE CASE: ‘‘I know he is the man who committed the crime. I acquit him, giving him the benefit of doubt,’’ said additional sessions judge G P Thareja while delivering the verdict on the sensational Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case on December 3, 1999.

Almost three years had elapsed since Mattoo, a 22-year-old law student, was found raped and strangled in her Vasant Kunj residence. She had upto 19 injuries on her body and her face had been battered.

The court accepted that Singh had allegedly harassed Mattoo by stalking her in person and over the phone over January and February 1995. Mattoo had complained to the police about Singh and was assigned a personal security officer by the police.

Thareja’s judgment damned both the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Delhi police, who had handled the rape-and-murder case initially. The court ruled that the CBI had faulted on many counts, including not following ‘‘official procedure’’, ‘‘fabricating DNA technology’’, as well as keeping away the fingerprint report from the court.

The judgment noted that the CBI had failed to produce Mattoo’s servant Virender Prasad, a vital eyewitness, which had ‘‘resulted in obstructing the ball of proof of criminal justice from going beyond reasonable doubt due to lack of fairness on part of the CBI in producing such evidence for judicial scrutiny/review’’.

The judgment also observed, “The subordinate staff of the Delhi Police attempted to assist the accused during investigation and also during trial’’.

STATUS TODAY: After acquittal, Santosh Singh has married and maintains a low profile in Delhi.

Abhishek Verma Age 35

WHO’S HE: Son of former Rajya Sabha Congress member Veena Verma

THE CASE: According to the senior special prosecutor of the Enforcement Directorate, Subhash Bansal, Abhishek Verma faces 10 cases of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act violations filed by the ED. ‘‘These violations are of illegal transactions involving large amounts of money,’’ he adds.

In one case, Verma and five others are accused of remitting around US $32 lakh illegally to a software company in Britain. Verma allegedly put the amount into a Swiss account on an order by the software company for supplying software to his company, Kudos Exports Private Limited. When ED started investigating, they found that the consignments were fake as they had blank floppies of very little value.

STATUS TODAY: ‘‘The cases are in different stages of trial. Some are in the pre-charge evidence stage, in one we have framed the charges,’’ says Bansal. Verma is currently out on bail.

Manu Sharma Age 28

WHO’S HE: Son of Congress leader and former Union minister of state for food and civil supplies Vinod Sharma

THE CASE: Around 2 am on April 30, 1999, 34-year-old model Jessica Lal was tending a bar at socialite Bina Ramani’s private party in the Qutub Colonnade, New Delhi. Two men came up, and demanded a drink. She refused, pointing out that it was after hours, and was shot in the temple.

The main accused, the police say, is Manu Sharma, born and brought up in Chandigarh. He is charged with murder, conspiracy and destruction of evidence. The co-accused are Vikas Yadav, son of politician D P Yadav, and Coca-Cola executive Amardeep Singh Gill, alias Tony.

STATUS TODAY: The case is in the final stages. Nearly 100 witnesses have been examined. And 20 have turned hostile. Manu Sharma, whom the court has barred from entering Delhi except to attend the hearings, maintains a low profile. He runs Blue Ice, a pub in Chandigarh’s happening Sector 17.

Neeraj Wadhera

Age 40

WHO’S HE: Son of the late D R Wadhera, owner of a five-star hotel in Delhi, and a Page Three person in his own right

THE CASE: It was late at night on August 25, 2001, when Neeraj Wadhera was arrested along with alleged drug dealer Naqibullah Ali by the Special Cell in front of Ambassador Hotel. Wadhera, a Page Three familiar, allegedly had 1 gm of cocaine on him, but it was enough to drag sundry designers, socialites and businessmen into the police net for interrogation. Later, the police arrested businessman Rajesh Bhalla and declared Robert Suri, another businessman, a proclaimed offender in the case.

Certain amendments to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, under which he was charged, went in Wadhera’s favour, though he risked rigorous imprisonment for upto 10 years. Says his lawyer Sanjeev Kumar, ‘‘The amendment classified punishments according to the quantity of narcotics and a small quantity — upto 2 gms — called for a sentence of six months or a fine of Rs 10,000.’’

Kumar managed to get bail for Wadhera under Section 64A. ‘‘According to this section, anyone caught with a small quantity (of drugs) can submit a medical certificate or statement saying that he has undergone treatment and be exonerated from prosecution. Wadhera was treated in India and abroad and submitted this statement, so he was exonerated,’’ says Kumar.

STATUS TODAY: Exonerated from prosecution after he went into rehab, Wadhera was recently in the news for his marriage to socialite Ramona Garware.