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Adnan murder trial opens on Orkut

Dozens of communities have proliferated on Orkut – a social networking site of which the murdered Adnan Patrawala was a member – that pay homage to him.

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CHENNAI: Dozens of communities have proliferated on Orkut – a social networking site of which the murdered Adnan Patrawala was a member – that pay homage to him and try his abductors for murder. Orkutians discussing Adnan’s case are not only urging the government to deliver justice but are also sharing investigative hunches.

The theory that media voyeurism sent murderous panic surging through Adnan’s kidnappers is gaining credibility with every public retelling. In a poll conducted by an Orkut community, 54 per cent of the respondents said they believed that TV channels played a role in his death.

And on Thursday, Maharashtra deputy chief minister RR Patil directed the authorities to identify the police officer responsible for tipping off a TV news channel about the abduction.  Patil’s order reflects Orkut’s fidelity in amplifying the public feeling. 

Adnan’s scrap book on the site has received more than 10,000 scraps, most of which are condolences. The messages received by Angel, the shadowy figure who allegedly asked Adnan to meet ‘her’ on the night he disappeared, bristle with curses.

Members of a community called ‘Who killed Adnan Patrawala’ appeared to have taken over the ‘virtual investigation’ and some even claimed to have zeroed in on Angel’s identity and location. The owner of the Orkut profile ‘Angel,’ has meanwhile posted a message pleading innocence.

‘Adnan Patrawala - A tribute,’ another community on the site, had about 1,200 members by Thursday evening. Run by someone called Boom Shanker, the community has been conducting frequent polls on issues related to the case, including that on media’s culpability.

The poll question ‘Is Angel innocent?’ received more than 100 responses in a couple of hours. Thirty-nine per cent of the respondents said ‘no’ and 27 per cent said ‘yes.’

The poll also asked visitors to determine a punishment befitting the crime. Forty-two per cent chose the option of having ‘a Doberman bite the offenders’ b***s off.’ Subjecting the killers to electric shock and having them whipped with barbed wire received equal endorsement: 26 per cent. Only 5 per cent supported a jail term.

The majority of those who participated in the poll, 41 per cent, agreed that the police were not serious enough about the investigation.

By 4.00 pm on Thursday, an Orkutian had posted the link to the profile of one Sujit Nair, the name of one of the accused in Adnan’s murder. 

It is hard to tell if the profile really belongs to the man currently in police custody. But hate messages flooded the profile’s scrap book all the same. One visitor was enraged by Nair’s tag line: “a real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”

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