Satyendra Dubey: A forgotten hero?

There was no formal function held in Patna and Gaya to remember whistleblower Satyendra Dubey on November 27, his third death anniversary. It was just another ordinary day. 

In 2003, Dubey, a 31-year-old project director with the National Highways Authority of India, was shot dead near the Circuit House in Gaya after he exposed deep-rooted corruption in construction of the Golden Quadrilateral Project. The incident shocked the nation.

Dubey, a native of Bihar, was eliminated by people who feared that he will expose their corruption. It was proved beyond any doubt that Dubey was killed soon after he wrote a letter to the Prime Minister's Office and blew the whistle on the contract mafia.

Though he requested that his name not be made public, vested interests leaked his name.

When Dubey was killed, several promises and assurances were made to keep his memory and his cause of fighting against corruption alive.

But now it appears that Dubey's martyrdom was forgotten by people of his home state, if not others.

Soon after Dubey was killed, it was a readymade issue for politicians to blame each other to take some advantage out of it.

When Dubey was killed, the National Democratic Alliance was in power at the center and Rashtrita Janata Dal-led government was in power in Bihar.

But even after becoming Railway Minister in 2004, Lalu has not pushed the CBI probe into the killing of Dubey.