4,000 citizens pen support for Vashi boy

NAVI MUMBAI: The small yet earnest signature campaign started by the students of Navi Mumbai to support Vikram Buddhi-the Indian student jailed in the US-has received a remarkable response from citizens across the society.
"We started our campaign to support Vikram's case on January 21 at Vashi station. We are happy that so far we have received close to 4,000 signatures from Navi Mumbai itself.All these will soon be compiled and posted to President Obama, said Sparsh Sharma, a student of Lokmanya Tilak Engineering College, Koparkhairane.
Earlier, Deshbhakti Andolan, an NGO, had initiated a campaign to free Vikram. Its convenor Dr Avisha K wrote to external affairs minister Pranab Mukherji and followed up the matter with the Indian consulate in Chicago. Now an online petition campaign has also been started to garner support for Vikram. south Mumbai MP Milind Deora too has taken up the matter with the Centre.
"People here are very concerned about the fact that a bright PhD student (Vikram) is in jail since April 2006 only on the allegation that he sent an online threat to kill US leaders. Even if we presume that he is guilty, two years in jail for this is unjust,'' said Vishnu Gavali of Iron Eagle V Group.
Ad man, Prahlad Kakkad, who was in recently in Vashi to promote the Palm Beach Marathon, earlier said: "I think Obama should indeed take a practical look at the Vikram Buddhi case, and set his agenda of change by releasing Vikram.''