Stem the rot

Sir — The report, “American addicts, fed from Calcutta” (Feb 14), is quite frightening. It reveals that Sanjay Kedia used to take orders for psychotropic drugs through the 29 “online pharmacies” floated by his company, Xponse IT. False prescriptions were faxed to pharmacies from where the users would procure the medicines. A phentermine addict is likely to buy the drug on a regular basis. Hence, it is astonishing that hundreds of medicine stores were repeatedly delivering the drugs to thousands of people based on faxed prescriptions, without bothering to ask for the original prescriptions. If so, these stores were rather irresponsible. It cannot be that Kedia was filling in client details on the prescription forms on his own. He must have taken the help of the staff of Xponse. A drug racket is usually run very secretly. But the Xponse websites were easily accessible, and thousands of addicts approached these sites. Moreover, Kedia had taken over the business from the American drug dealer, Steven Mahana. It is surprising that it took so long for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Narcotics Control Bureau of India to bust a racket that was being run so openly.

If they had caught the culprits earlier, many addicts could have been rehabilitated by now. Besides, the websites did not deny access to Asians. Perhaps Kedia had no Asian clients because these drugs can be easily bought over the counter in countries like India, where the drug control authorities are not as strict as their counterparts in the West. This is probably why Kedia targetted drug-users in the West, especially the US, where availability is scarce and making money, therefore, easy. One has a feeling that Kedia could not have sustained this business alone; he must have enjoyed the support of people in very high places. None of those who aided and abetted Kedia’s crime should be spared.

Yours faithfully,
Govind Das Dujari, Calcutta

Sir — The business process outsourcing companies in India have been in the news for all the wrong reasons — they have been the sites of sex scandals, murders and now, drug deals. Who knows if more such skeletons are waiting to come out of the cupboards of other BPOs? There are several call centres in Indian metropolitan cities which lure youngsters with lucrative job offers and later, divert them into dubious activities. Once their activities come to light, hundreds of young unemployed are left to scout for jobs again. So, the young generation should think twice before getting excited over call-centre jobs. A strong vigilance should be ordered on all BPO offices to keep unpleasant incidents at bay.

Yours faithfully,
Moumita Sengupta, Calcutta


Sir — Sanjay Kedia and his involvement in a drug scandal can well be part of the moral books (“Drug arrest in tech hub”, Feb 13). An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and a masters-degree holder from North Carolina University, Kedia had a huge potential to excel. It seems that his entry into the BPO business marked a turnaround in his career, but not a positive one. What is the use of degrees and education if they cannot strengthen one’s moral character? More than academic brilliance, the basis of recruiting business managers should be the candidate’s ethical values. Management and information technology institutes should tailor their courses with this in mind.

Yours faithfully,
Avinash Gupta, Hooghly

Sir — The sealing of the office of Xponse by the NCB was nothing but a show of high-handedness and abuse of power. The crime was committed by the CEO of Xponse and perhaps by a few others. How far is it justified to stop the operations of a company for the crime committed by its CEO? There were other stakeholders in the company who were not involved in the crime. How will they and the employees get their dues if the office is sealed and all operations are suspended? Those looking for new jobs cannot even get the necessary certificates before they resign. If Xponse were a bigger organization, surely the NCB would have thought twice before acting.

Yours faithfully,
Raj Bagri, Calcutta

Sir — Xponse is an ISO 9001:2000 company and so, the drug scandal brings more shame on it than it would to others. The government should learn a lesson and establish surveillance cells in all IT parks. Such cyber-crimes in Bengal could put paid to the chief minister’s investor-wooing plans.

Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta, Calcutta

Sir — Sanjay Kedia’s career shows how merit can be used for immoral purposes. Lawyers defending offenders like Kedia should consider the gravity of the crime before agreeing to defend a person. Or else, such offences will go on increasing.

Yours faithfully,
Jayantabishnu Mukherjee, Calcutta