2017 ended with a tragic incident wherein fire and panic
costed lives of 14 people.
The darkness continued when 2018 began with more atrocities
to surface. Communal conflicts gave birth to terror. Few packs of mob very much
residing in the maximum city were out on the street creating nuisance by
disrupting commute, damaging the public and private properties and behaving
alike ruthless dictators. There were mere puppets governed by their bosses who
of course had an agenda to work on. All this was painted on the political
canvas. This is a country where Politics, Bollywood, Mafia, Law, Sports and
Business go hand-in-hand. They support each other and the fundamental stone for
the support is common man; be it the money, energy, resources or anything.
Everything is done for the common man, victimizing the common man and at the
end consoling the common man.
In those 2 days, I am sure many of us have experienced
abnormal situations. I am fortunate this time that I was not the one who
experienced anything much unusual. However, I learnt about a few incidents that
broke my heart. I would like to narrate one of those there.
Tiana (name changed) was travelling from her home to office.
The ride on the cab was smooth for a few kilometres until she reached a
prominent crossroad of the city. On all the 4 sides of the junction, vehicles
had piled up and no one was supposed to move. Reason? The mob had taken entire
control of the traffic and they weren’t allowing anyone to proceed. Worse, the
vehicles weren’t even permitted to make a U-turn and move back. Worst, the
passengers seated in the public buses were asked to get down and vacate the
vehicle. Worse than the worst, the mob was shouting, pelting stones and causing
all possible damage.
The most unfortunate situation as described by Tiana was
that when the people were asking the cops to help, all that they were doing is
making futile attempts to ask the mob to stay away. There was not strict
action. After some while, some of the cops disappeared and some were just mute
spectators. Tiana proactively called the local police station and voiced out
about the situation to the officer in-charge thereby requesting help in
this dire condition. Her call was slammed after a crude statement – Hum Log
Gaagi Bhej Rahe Hai (We are sending the vehicle for help). Tiana was
hopeful but apprehensive too. Alas, her apprehension was proven right. There
was no sign of any police vehicle for next one hour.
Meanwhile, she was updating us constantly on the Whatsapp
group messages. Saira (name change) gave her another hope by typing 3 phone
numbers and names. She asked Tiana to contact them. They were the security
officials working with the organization that Tiana was working with. With less
hopes, she made a call and to her surprise it was answered. The officer on the
other end told that there are many calls coming in and they shall look into the
matter.
Tiana comprehended that she will have to wait endlessly. She
had lost all the confidence. She kept waiting for a while. Soon, her phone rang
and it was a good news for her. An external security agency had come to the
rescue. This was arranged by the Security officials whom she had spoken to. The
vehicle picked her up and dropped her home safe.
It was already a long day for Tiana but on a positive note,
she felt relieved that it was a happy ending for her while she was sad about
the entire happening and the way it was politically controlled.
