Shanmughan Manjunath

Shanmughan Manjunath

Shanmugam Manjunath ( Kannada: ಷಣ್ಮುಗಂ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ) (1978 Kolar-2005) was a marketing manager (grade A officer) for the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) who was murdered for sealing a corrupt petrol station in UP. This incident inspired several students at IIM, IIT and other institutes.

Education

Manjunath earned his Computer Science Engineering degree from Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore, and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Lucknow.

Opposition to corruption and murder

While working for the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Lucknow, he had ordered two petrol pumps at Lakhimpur Kheri sealed for selling adulterated fuel for three months. When the pump started operating again a month later, Manjunath decided to conduct a surprise raid around November 19, 2005.

Having not heard from his son for three days, at around 9 that night, his father, M Shanmughan, had sent an SMS: "How are you?". There was no reply because that very night, during his inspection, Manjunath had been shot dead in Gola Gokarannath town of Lakhimpur Kheri. His body, riddled with at least six bullets, was found in the backseat of his own car, which was being driven by two employees of the petrol pump. Both were arrested and the main accused, pump-owner Pawan Kumar ('Monu') Mittal, was held on November 23 along with seven others.

Murder Trial

Manjunath's death came close on the heels of the assassination of Satyendra Dubey, suspected to have been for similar reasons (fighting corruption). Following the murder, there was immense media spotlight on the case. S. Manjunath's batchmates from IIM Lucknow (where he was affectionately called machan) also kept the story alive.

Fortunately, the Manjunath Shanmugam Trust took up the case with dogged determination. The Trust lawyer Mr. I.B Singh, the Public Prosecutor Sri Chandramohan Singh, Trustees, volunteers and supporters worked hard to ensure quick justice. 16 months after the murder, all eight accused were found guilty by the Lakhimpur Khiri Sessions Court. The main accused, Monu Mittal and 7 accomplices were convicted of murder by Sessions judge, Lakhimpur Kheri. ^[1]

Bail appeals by the convicted killers are being heard in the Lucknow High Court - the Manjunath Shanmugam Trust lawyer Mr. I.B Singh continues to work closely with the case. Petrol pump owner Pawan Kumar Mittal, the main accused in the sensational murder of Indian Oil sales manager Manjunath, was sentenced to death by a district court, while the other seven accused were given life imprisonment on March 21 2005.

Indian Oil Corporation paid Rs. 26 lakhs compensation to the family.

Kerosene in diesel

A commonplace usage of black market kerosene is the adulteration of diesel.^[2] The Indian government encourages the use of kerosene as cooking oil by the poor, to reduce the amount of wood used as fuel; kerosene bound for the Public Distribution System is subsidized by the Indian government.

The Manjunath Shanmugam Trust

A pan IIM initiative, "The Manjunath Shanmugam Trust" was registered on 23 February 2006, Manjunath's birth anniversary. With immediate objectives of fighting the case, they have a broader agenda of improving governance in Indian public life.

On 26 March 2007, the main accused Pawan Kumar Mittal was awarded death sentence, while the other seven accused were sentenced to life imprisonment.^[3]

Key Initiatives The Trust runs India's first (and only) National Right To Information Act Helpline. The 12*7 (8 am - 8 pm) multi language Helpline, serviced by professionally trained call center agents, guides citizens through the features of this powerful tool against corruption.

The Manjunath Shanmugam Integrity Award

The Manjunath Shanmugam Integrity Award carries a citation and a Rs. One Lakh Cash Award; to honour those who have reported and worked to rectify systemic corruption. The first Manjunath Shanmugam Integrity Award was awarded on March 24, 2007 to Prof. R.P. Singh, Vice Chancellor Lucknow University for his extraordinary courage in taking on criminals and politicians to clean up Lucknow University and implement the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations. The award was presented in a public function by Chairman & Chief Mentor of Infosys Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy.

Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti president Akhil Gogoi received the prestigious 2nd Shanmugam Manjunath Integrity Award from the Magsaysay awardee Kiran Bedi at a function held on March 28, 2008 at the IIT Delhi Seminar Hall. Mr Gogoi who hails from upper Assam’s Golaghat district has been awarded for his fight against corruption. One of the finalist, IAS officer Sri M.N.Vijayakumar was not allowed to attend the function by his senior Sudhakar Rao (Husband of current foreign secretary Nirupama Rao) which was widely criticised by his wife Jayashree JN and was also brought to the notice of President of India.^[4]

Padma Awards for Manjunath

The Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS) and National RTI Forum are pursuing the demand of awarding one of the Padma Awards by the Government of India to both Manjunath Shanmugam and Satyendra Dubey, the IIT Kanpur graduate who was murdered in similar circumstances while working for the National Highway Authority of India. They have already submitted a petition to the President and started an online campaign on a social networking sites and online petition, where more than thousand people already joined.^{[5] [6][7]}

Notes

1. ^ Manjunath case Final hearing in July Times of India
2. ^ 7000 liters of Kerosene on way to Sitapur seized Indian Express Dec 8 2005
3. ^ Rediff.com
4. ^ [1]
5. ^ Demand for Padma Awards
6. ^ Support needed
7. ^ [2]

See also

• Satyendra Dubey: Assassinated Nov 2003 for whistleblowing on the criminal nexus in highway construction in Bihar.

External links

• Manjunath Shanmugam Trust homepage

Persondata
Name	Manjunath, Shanmughan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1978
Place of birth
Date of death	2005
Place of death