Dr. Gaurav Chhabra writes about his experience as a regular citizen of India out on a post dinner stroll. Dr. Gaurav Chhabra is a health activist and filmmaker. Recently he made and released a film about current happenings around corruption called Inklab. Do watch.
After the daily dose of our post dinner ice-cream, me and a dear friend of mine were sitting on the pavement along the market of sector-15 discussing our upcoming ventures and ideas. A police truck passed by . They were shouting out aloud and warning everyone to leave .. and that no one should remain there as its too late ( 11:10 pm) Me and my friend continued our chats and stayed there as our talks were yet not finished.
Fifteen or so minutes after that one Sub inspector named Fateh Singh and a constable came roaming eating ice-cream. The constable approached us and said “ Leave this place now.. its too late” . I said “ How late is too late ?” He replied that don’t quarrel..leave the place.. I replied back.. no we are doing nothing illegal andthere is no law that we are breaking by sitting here. To which he replied that its not about law.. law doesn’t matter.. you should just leave. I refused to do the same. The Sub inspector then came and straight away started conversation in a very uncivilized manner and insisted that we must leave or they shall do that by force . We again refused. He asked what do you do.. and I replied.. the fact that I am a doctor but am unemployed . When the Sub inspector started talking in a harsh manner and said that we must leave right now else he will use force, I called up at Police control room at 100 and explained the matter.
The officer on other side asked me to pass phone to the SI. I did same and the SI started telling them that there is some unemployed doctor who is acting insane due to his frustration of unemployment and is fighting for no reason…and that they should not interfere. I insisted that PCR should come and see into the matter of this harassment by police.
PCR ( CH 01 G1 6207) arrived in ten minutes. The SI talked with the Constable that came. The constable Vikram Singh became very aggressive and said “ That we don’t care of law.. we know the language of beating people.. and don’t explain us law we don’t care of it.. we know how to deal with people.” He also cited some other instance where police uses abuses like maachod and bhenchod against such people if they don’t go. I objected to it and called up at 100 again and told this to police officer there. NOTHING HELPED.
SI called up SHO and SHO told him to bring us to police station and they will ‘see’ us there. We said we can go there..as we haven’t broken any law and instead they are misbehaving.
After another ten minutes one Inspector arrived, with a team of ten or so policemen and he started yelling that why when his truck passed by and announced ..we dint leave ?? He investigated about us in deep took us our numbers and address and asked us to go from there right away or else we would be taken to police station and that it shall teach us what ‘ law ‘ is .. !! The SI explained him.. that ‘He is a unemployed doc.. and looks mentally disturbed and hence so is fighting with everyone’..trying to make me look like a fool to everyone.
After that Inspector insisted that we must leave right now .. or face the musicand also said that he will deal with us tomorrow.
I knew.. if we go to police station they are going to put me in a lock up ..and make fun of the same…also there was no point in sitting there in market with 20 angry policemen on your head…talking to you like as if PUBLIC matters them a least and nor does LAW. Behavior of some of them was worse than any GOON I have seen lately. I came back…as a worn out common man. I will submit detail of this incident to SSP, I wonder if there would be any outcome. I would call it a harassment, the police would call it ‘ CASE OF AN UNEMPLOYED FRUSTRATED DOCTOR’ .
But I wonder… is this the city.. that has recently been sanctioned umpteen crores of rupees to promote Night Tourism.. and night life in the city ??? 11 pm is too late to sit in market ? Excuse me.. have they seen ahmedabad..? Have they seen Mumbai ?? And as they said they are NOT concerned about law.. that is the reason.. you can be a drunk person driving car at 150 km/hr and they wont stop you..but you cant sit peacefully in market after 11 pm !
With this narrow approach , ill- mannerism and lack of spirit , Chandigarh can only promote commercial restricted places of tourism but not a cultured nightlife !!
Update 1: Gaurav shares that he has got a positive response from the police complaint authority. The jury is out there on what would happen if no one had heard of him. Would he still deserve dignity?
Update 2: COMPLAINT submitted personally to POLICE COMPLAINT AUTHORITY in sector 9 chd. Sunwaai is on 13th May! Copy fo complaint