The Scene of the Crime-Take 3 (Police Station)

 

Thursday, I make a 2nd trip to the same old Police Station.

 
12noon:
2 new faces of ‘officers’ greeted me, as I’d expected. I had a terrible experience with the 2 old faces the last day. I’d made sure I carried everything today, the Railway ticket I used to travel on Sunday and the mobile receipt.
The new faces comprised an SI (2 stars, remember the tip? :P) and a Head Constable. I repeated the entire crap to the SI Manekar. A small twist in the story though. This time my answer to the ‘Are you working’ question was “I’m studying for PGDBM”. I was planning to do a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM), but I’ve finally called it off because I believe God has different plans for me, than becoming a CEO.
Anyways I think I’d be forgiven for that lie as it helped me avoid a greater sin-bribe. I personally try my best to avoid a bribe. It’s not really about the money. I wouldn’t like to give away even a 10-rupee note as a bribe. Though, once when I was caught driving without license/vehicle papers at 11pm, I did pay 75 bucks instead of the 400 he was asking for a pavti (receipt):P They ask any damn amount. I think it’s because I don’t know the rules. I could’ve argued with him if I knew what fines are like.

 
I’ve never seen an ad for police recruitment. I guess it would be something like this…
Salary: Basic Rs5000 + ‘incentives’ 🙂
Like BPO ads seen these days. Salary: Rs10000 + incentives. Hehe.

 
So let me come back to the Police Station. When they hear that the complainant’s studying, ‘they’ aren’t that adamant on getting ‘something’. But they try their best. 😛 I told him that I don’t have the money. Also told that I’d met Dhingre sahib the last day and he’d told me to just bring the ticket and mobile receipt and the FIR would be lodged. I lost count of the number of times i lied now 😛
Since I wasn’t ready to pay up, he told me that I was too late for the FIR. So “Get an affidavit stating that you were traveling by train, and you lost your mobile on this date and this place.”

 
Amidst all this, I saw 2 boys aged less than 20, being dragged inside into the other room. Their clothes were removed and they were being hit by the policemen. I’d never seen policemen hitting ‘criminals’ in real before. And I now realized that they hit pretty bad. They were using something which looked like a large leather flap to hit them.
I headed to the Collector’s office which is a kilometer away. After all the ordeal of getting an affidavit from the Collector’s office, I returned to the police station.

 
2.15PM:
The policemen were having their lunch. The SI had gone out for lunch. He came back in a few minutes. He started reading my affidavit. He said to the lady Constable ‘Make an application on his behalf saying he lost his mobile, mentioning all details. Mention that the cell was lost, not stolen’.
‘If you mention that the cell was stolen, I can’t give you an FIR statement to you now.’ He said to me. I thought I might need an FIR statement so that I could give it to my Mobile Service Provider for blocking my SIM card.
I feel if the FIR mentions the cell as stolen, they might’ve to investigate compulsorily.
The lady also gave me a statement with stamp mentioning that my cell has been lost.

The SI now tried to emotionally blackmail me saying ‘You gave the lawyer 150 bucks. We did so much for you. Nothing for us, huh?’
I repeated that I was studying and blah blah…
“Since your work has been done now, you have forgotten us, right? That’s not fair.” he said.
When he saw that I was reluctant he said “Anyways, go..go..”
I tried to make a sad face and got the heck out of the room, once and for all.
By the way, my watch showed 3PM.

(Names have been changed to protect identity & protect myself 🙂 )

Getting an affidavit at the Pune Collector’s Office

 

Once inside the Collector’s campus, I asked for directions to “Where can I get an affidavit made?”
I was directed to a large hall. If someone needed the meaning of ‘chaos’, I could tell him “See. This is chaos”.

There were 14 counters (At least that’s what the signboards told me) 😛 . But I couldn’t see a single line.. er… queue. (In India, people use the word ‘line’ instead of ‘queue’ 😛 ) It was complete mayhem, the same way a crowd gathers around the stage for a ‘Shaan’ performance; people shoving and standing on each other. Queues merged into each other, but strangely enough, everyone knew which queue they were in, who’s before him and who’s after him. I had to ask people “Where does this line go-4 or 5?” 😛
I found the smallest queue and I could count atleast 15-20 people ahead of me. On an average, each person spent atleast 15 mins at the counter. I got lost calculating the approximate time it’d take, for me to reach the counter. A ‘good Samaritan’ there told me that my affidavit need not be made with the Collectors stamp, but I can get it made from any of the Advocates standing outside. I now realized why I’d seen hordes of people in ‘Black Coats’ outside the office.

I now realized wearing black to the collector’s office could be the greatest wardrobe malfunction; someone could mistake you for a lawyer.:P (I was NOT in black, btw) I myself stared at many people wearing black.
In fact, some even asked them ‘I need this agreement done regarding…?’
‘Excuse me. I’m not a lawyer’ 😛

For one moment, i thought wearing black at the collector’s could be a good economic choice, too. Because I couldn’t help looking at some ‘black coats’ with suspicion. ‘He cannot be a lawyer!!!’ i thought looking at some of them 😛

I was told to get a stamp paper worth 50 bucks for my affidavit. When I came back with the stamp-paper, I found a ‘black coat’, aged around 50-60 yrs, parking his 2-wheeler at the Collector’s. I narrated my stuff to him and asked him what he’d charge for it.
“Rs 150”
I lied that the others were doing it at 100.
He said there’s a lot of work for this. 150 is nominal.
I didn’t argue now.

He took out his suitcase, kept it on his 2-wheeler and started writing on the stamp-paper everything from my name, address, DOB, my mobile details, the crime scene, et al.

Meanwhile I noticed a 20-something guy sitting behind us on another vehicle and writing something. He might be writing his personal diary, or maybe he is some crazy blogger like me. He smiled at me, I returned the favor.
“What are you writing?” I asked.
“I’m just writing about a small incident when I was on a picnic. Actually I’m doing it so that I can improve my English. I’m trying to get into a BPO”
“You want to get into a BPO? That’s nice. I worked for 8 months in a BPO” I showed interest.
“Where do you work now?” he asked
“In a software company” I replied
“That’s great.” He seemed elated.
‘What’s so great about it. I’ve never felt it that way?. Maybe he said that because of the salary you get in the software industry.’ i thought to myself.

 
He had gone for an interview in a software company sometime back and got rejected in the last round because of lack of Communication Skills. He’d always wanted to get into software. He had completed his Bachelor’s and then a 1-yr computer course. But was jobless for about a year.

“And now?” i asked.
“Now I’m studying Law. Completed first year. This is my dad” he said, pointing to my ‘black coat man’ who was writing my affidavit beside me.
‘Wow! Good he told me this. Otherwise I might’ve accidentally said ‘something’  regarding his dad. Lucky escape. Phew’ I thought to myself 😛
“It’s good business being a lawyer, man. See you can earn so much in a day. Hehe. By the way, your dad forced you to take up Law?” I whispered to him. I was indeed ruing the fact that I didn’t become a lawyer. It’s such a lucrative profession. 😛 You get hundreds of clients. Every 30 mins can earn you around 150-200 bucks here.
“Yes. I wanted to get into Software. But, my parents said that since you couldn’t make out a career on your own, do what we say now” he whispered back.
He took my email address. I took his name-Ravindra (As far as I can remember). ‘Make sure you mail me’ I told him.

I’d say that-If you can read this, you need to be grateful to God. Getting to do what you like to, is not a choice every mortal gets. Imagine a guy who loves Computer stuff being forced to take up Law. Unemployment can often deprive one of choices in life. My grandfather keeps saying ‘Getting a good job at the age of 21 is God’s grace. You need to be grateful to Him.’ I often ignore him because he says that 10 times a day, once in front of every guest who comes home. 😛 With the BPO/Call Center boom in India, I thought ‘Everyone has a job today’. But I now felt a ‘job’ is indeed a privilege.

  
Meanwhile Ravindra’s dad had completed my affidavit. I told him “Please take Rs100 instead of Rs150”
He agreed, may be because I spoke to his son for so long. 😛

 

I casually asked him about what next at the police station. “Just submit this. I don’t need to pay them anything, right?”
“You might’ve to give them something. Some small amount maybe Rs150” he replied
“Why? Registering an FIR is their duty, right? Why do I need to pay for it?” I asked
Just then another man who’d come to ‘my lawyer’, tried to explain with some stupid logic.
“If we’ve excess wealth, we must share some with them too. They aren’t paid much. It’s OK. Let everyone enjoy the party, man. It’s like- Live and let live.” the stranger said.
“Sir, I don’t mind giving money to a poor person. Even some policemen are poor, I agree. But you are paying him just because you want something done from him. You aren’t paying because he’s poor. Would you’ve paid him if you wanted nothing from him and you just casually met him on the way?” I argued with the stranger.
“Everyone has different perspectives” the stranger said.
I think I won it. 😛

The Scene of the Crime-Take 2 (Police Station)

 

Now the title for this essay ‘Three hours at the Police Station’ 😛

Sunday (8th June)night, I lose my cell.

Monday, I’m too sad to discuss with anyone.

Tuesday, my friend Anand tells me that lodging a police complaint could help me trace it as one of our friends had got his cell back with police help. “Just carry your mobile phone purchase bill”. I realized that every mobile phone has a unique ‘International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) No. This no is transmitted by a phone along with it’s SIM card no, everytime there’s a communication. So even if the SIM card is changed, the phone can be traced using the IMEI no.

Wednesday, I go to the Police Station attached to the Railway Station. 

A flashback of my first visit to a police station crossed me. In fact, that was the sole visit I had to my credit (Lest you consider me some terrorist:-P ).

This Station was different. A small entrance leaded me to the grim room. Two khaki-dressed men stared at me. Recognizing Police ranks by the number of stars on their shoulders had never been my forte.

 

‘Hmm’ said one, his expressions asking ‘What is it?’

‘I want to lodge an FIR (First Information Report)’ said I, still at the entrance.

‘What?’ he asked, even though I was loud enough to be heard.

‘Want to lodge an F-I-RRR’ I repeated, this time louder.

‘Come here’ the second khaki called me in.

 

I saw two other women in khaki inside.

‘What happened?’ the second khaki guy asked. He was a Constable, which I figured out minutes later.

‘I lost my cell. I want to register an FIR’, I replied.

‘Where?’ That’s always their first question, to find out if the crime scene is under their jurisdiction. If no, they can send you away straightaway, you see?. 😛

‘Inside the railway station. Platform no 5’

‘Why had you gone there?’ he asked rudely as if I’d gone to a drug-peddler’s den. I think they behave rude, to try and ‘scare off’ the complainant. Because every complaint means more work to them.

‘I was going to Dehuroad by the 11.05 train’.

‘When did it happen?’ he asked

‘Sunday night. 8th June’ I replied.

‘It happened on Sunday? And you are coming today? Its already Sunday-Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday- 4 days already. You can’t log a complaint now’ he tried to discourage me.

Why is their mathematics so bad? I thought to myself.

‘Sir, it happened on Sunday night, right? So it’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday afternoon. So it’s 2.5 days.’ I tried to get his basics correct 😛

‘Yes. But it’s too late. Why didn’t you come and tell us the same night it happened. We are here 24 hours. We don’t close shop and go home’ he said, sporting a wicked smile and checking if the 2 women Constables liked his sad joke.

‘I thought it might’ve fallen somewhere. So I was searching for it amongst us.’

‘No, no, no…’ he said looking outside. After a few seconds, ‘Do you’ve the railway ticket you used to travel that day?’

‘No. I’m carrying the mobile receipt though.’ I said.

‘Mobile receipt is fine. But what’s the proof that you traveled by train that day?’ he said taking my receipt.

‘It was worth 12000Rs?’ he asked, surprised/sad/happy. I couldn’t decipher his expression.

‘Yes’ I replied. I now noticed that his ‘nameplate’ said-R.S. Dhingre.

 

Now came his million dollar question. (I later realized it was rather a 500 Rupee question:-) )

‘Are you working now?’ he asked. He had become visibly suppressed now, from his previous rude self. May be because he saw I was determined to get the FIR done. 😛

I didn’t want to lie. So I said ‘Yes’.

And there, there went my first mistake. Don’t worry; I’m not talking about ‘the 3 mistakes of my life’. 😛

He made me put my entire employment history in front of him.

‘Wait for my boss to come. He’ll tell you what we can do since you don’t have the ticket.’ He said

‘OK’ I replied, happy that he didn’t ask for money.

 

Meanwhile I checked out an India-Pakistan match in the ‘TV Room’ inside. I also gossiped with ‘Dhingre saheb’ and we discussed about everything from his working hours to ranks in the State Police. 🙂

It was a wonderful, knowledge-enriching session. And, yes, I’ve written about this insight into the life of policemen.

It was getting late. So I asked him ‘Does he come around this time everyday?’ 😛

‘Yes. He should come now. Actually the thing is..’ he started brushing his fingers to indicate money.

‘What? How much?’ I asked, acting surprised.

‘500’ was the reply.

‘What? We spoke so much and I saw that you were a good man. And now you are asking this?’ I tried to flatter him. 😛

‘It’s not for me. It’s for everyone. All my bosses here.’ He said.

‘I don’t have so much money. I’ve already lost my cell, sir. And now another expense?’ I requested.

‘Then wait for my boss to come.’

 

Finally, his boss came. While I was explaining everything to him, I saw that he had 2 stars on either shoulder. That meant he was a Sub-Inspector.

After repeating all the crap to him, including the ‘WORKING’ question, he said, ‘Give whatever small thing he asked and he’ll take your complaint.’ signaling towards Dhingre.

‘But Sir I don’t have the money. I’ve already lost my cell.’ I hate repetition, but I didn’t have a choice.

‘But since you don’t have the ticket….’ he tried to explain.

‘OK. I’ll bring the railway ticket tomorrow, so that you can lodge a complaint.’ I said. I’d called dad sometime back and asked him whether he had the railway tickets of that day. Luckily he hadn’t thrown them away. And I love him for this. He preserves every damn thing. 🙂

‘You still have the tickets with you? Of Sunday?’ he asked. I loved the dumbfounded/sad expression on their faces. I couldn’t completely decipher this either.

‘We, both are on leave tomorrow.’ He said.

‘Someone else would be here? OK’ I replied hoping for a better time the next day.

 

(Names have been changed to protect identity & protect myself 🙂 )