Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I The Sunday Guardian I November 09, 2014

Former Assam Director General of Police, Shankar Barua committed suicide by shooting himself with his licensed revolver at his home in Guwahati on 17 September 2014. He was 63 years old. Shankar Barua was being investigated by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam. Family sources said he had slipped into depression after his name had been linked to the scam.

Although this kind of involvement on the part of Barua was a mistake, however, he committed another mistake which was completely avoidable. That is, he failed to rethink about his case and re-plan his future action. It is a law of nature that if in a situation a person loses the first chance, then there is always a second chance for him. But, Barua's real mistake was that he became so obsessed with the first mistake that he could not think beyond it. His case could have gone to the courts and he may have won the legal fight. But, had Barua lost the legal fight and the court sentenced him to imprisonment, even then he had a chance. He could have written a book with the title, How to Eradicate Corruption, as he undoubtedly had many experiences relating to this phenomenon. He was very capable of dealing with this subject and his book could have become a bestseller on being published. If Barua had set himself to this task with an open mind he would certainly have been conferred with the epithet of the "Saviour of Modern India".

Our world is full of chances. When a person loses the first chance, there is always a second chance waiting for him. The only condition for him to avail of this chance is that he should save himself from becoming victim of frustration and re-plan his life. Very soon he will discover that there was a second chance for him, which in terms of result proved better than the first chance.