For Once, I was Relieved the Cops Arrived

Before I tell you the actual story, let me tell you about my schedule, which is the main reason for my involvement in this case. After I took the new job in BMC Software, Pune, I travel back to Mumbai every weekend. Mostly, I return home on Friday evening enroute Thane.

On 3rd April 09, I was on my way back home in a BEST bus. The bus was about to leave the bus stop near the Cadbury factory when a drunkard almost collided with the bus. However, the bus driver was alert and avoided the collision. But, as drunk drivers are, he perceived that the near-collision was the bus driver’s mistake. So, to avenge the driver for not hitting his car, the drunkard parked his Tata Indica in front of the bus such that the bus couldn’t move forward. Well, as a result, a wonderful vocabulary came on display in the conversation between the drunkard and the bus driver. All respect to their mother and sisters was forgotten. Just wondering, how come their mother and sisters got involved in this?  ;-)

Judging by what was said in that heated conversation, the drunkard became a self-proclaimed Don with a large gang. He proclaimed that he had the capability to thwart the government property, the bus driver, and all the passengers. The drunkard then called his so called gang members thanks to the anywhere, anytime mobility. And guess what, his supporters were there at the scene in no time. So, this small case of road rage attracted a large crowd of bystanders.

The Great Mumbai Road Rage debate continued between the Driver (along with passengers) and the drunkard (and his gang) for approximately 15 minutes. Some passenger from the bus had the idea of reversing the bus and bypassing the drunkard and his gang. However, they were alert enough to start reversing their vehicle and blocking the entire road. So, the result was a great traffic jam on the Cadbury road. Well, I haven’t mentioned the time yet. The Great Mumbai Road Rage debate had started at 22:10 and the traffic jam was witnessed at 22:25.

The road was completely blocked for 10 minutes. All the bus passengers and some bystanders started negotiating with the drunkard and his gang to let the bus driver park on the road side and let the traffic flow freely. Finally, the drunkard’s gang was convinced and the story continued on the road side.

Once the drunkard’s gang realized that the driver won’t get off the bus or drive the bus away, they started hitting the bus and tried to break the window glass. The drunkard’s gang started behaving like men possessed. Their voice was roaring through the passing traffic. It seemed that they were determined to teach a lesson to the bus driver. Finally, common sense prevailed and a passenger had the idea of calling the cops. So, we called 100, got the Thane control room number from there, and finally, the Cops arrived in five minutes. Phew!!! The atmosphere felt better with the Cops’ arrival, strangely. :-)

The Cops first shoved away the ever increasing crowd of bystanders in a typical Indian way of crowd management. That is, by scaring them with their lathis. Too bad these lathis don’t work on terrorists, but this is an administrative issue and we can’t expect civil police to carry hi-tech weapons. Fortunately, the Cops didn’t hit anyone from the crowd, but hit the ground with their lathis to create panic and make the crowd runaway. Now, I just can’t stop imagining what the situation would have been if the Cops had requested the crowd to move back politely. I can easily picture the scene in which the Cops are making polite requests and the crowd not moving an inch. May be lathis are the way the Indian society understands the way they need to behave.

Now, coming back to the drunkard and his gang, seeing the Cops converted them from the GANG to a bunch of kids pleading guilty from their parents for a fight with the neighbor kid. So, mere presence of the Cops suppressed all the rhetoric, attitude, ego, and strength of the GANG.

Now the time is 22:45 and we are on our way to Rabodi Police Station in Thane. We reach the police station and the way the Cops behaved was contrary to our perceptions. They were very comforting and didn’t shoo us away from the Police Station. The bus driver and the drunkard were taken in along with few passengers. Their statements were taken, and we were allowed to leave in an hour. However, some passengers preferred to not give any statement as they didn’t want to get into a legal hassle. I was told that the cops would call them in an untimely manner for appearing as witnesses in courts. This is one aspect that should be improved in our civil policing to accommodate more witnesses and encourage active civil cooperation.

While leaving, we were assured that the culprits would be dealt with justly. So, I was again on my way back home at 23:45, a bit later than what I would have preferred. But, overall, kudos to the cops for once. There exists significant corruption in the police force, but for once they managed to keep the law and order situation under control. Kudos to them for this.