1) In our market there is an open space where there is one khokha (shack) selling cold drinks. toffees, namkeen (savouries), and cigarettes; and one chaiwallah (tea-
wallah). There is a gents' urinal with two stalls, a long concrete bench. and a tree in this open space. This area comes under Vasant Vihar police station.
2) This open space is separated from Outer Ring Road by some corrugated galvanised iron sheets due to some digging going on at present.
3) A couple of liquor shops are in the market.
4) Some policemen are on duty in and near this market. They sometimes come to this open space. This being Munirka, these policemen are also responsible for the bus
stop from which the Delhi rape victim and her friend were picked up by those rapists in that bus.
5) One day, about eight-ten months ago, I purchased one cigarette and one diet pepsi from the khokha and was standing under the tree near the concrete bench and
smoking the cigarette with one hand while the diet pepsi bottle was in the other hand. Apeejay College of Architecture students can be asked about my love for diet
pepsi. The gastroenterology department at Fortis hospital, Vasant Kunj , New Delhi can also be asked about my FORMER love for diet pepsi. But this is not the point of
this post.
6) One young (30-35 years old) but balding policeman came up to me and said "daaru pee rahe ho?" ("Are you drinking booze?") using respectful "you")) I said "what do
you mean? I am only smoking" He said "phir paseena kyun aa raha hai?" ("then why is sweat flowing?") I said "garmi hai, aur yeh botal abhi khuli nahin hai, dekh lo."
("It is hot/summer, and this bottle is not yet open.") He saw that the bottle of diet pepsi was sealed, and murmured something and went away. I felt irritated at the
assumption that if I am sweating then I must be drinking alcohol, but I did not do anything further.
7) On monday last, two days before Dhulendi (Badi Holi) and one day before Holi (Chhoti Holi), I purchased a bottle of refrigerated soda and a cigarette from the
khokha, and sat down on the concrete bench to smoke and drink the soda. There was already one youngman sitting facing the blocked road, and one boy from the lower
income group sitting facing the tree, on the bench.
8) This same balding young policeman came and said to the young man who was facing the tree, "kya pee raha hai?" ("What are you drinking?")using disrespectful "you"))
He said nothing and put forward his arm with an unfinished red can of kingfisher strong beer. He took the can of beer from the boy, and said come with me and took him
to one corner near the chaiwallah. The boy said something, upon which this balding yound policeman slapped him. He protested, and this man slapped him again. By this
time another policeman had come, who was taller than this balding policeman. Both were in uniform. If I remember correctly then both these policemen had guns in
holsters as a part of their uniform. The balding policeman said to this other policeman, "yeh keh raha hai ki tum mujhe pakad loge aur thaaney le jaoge, main apne ghar
waalon ko bulaoonga, woh tumhe hazaar paanch sau rupaye denge, aur tum mujhe chhod doge." ("This fellow is saying that you will catch me and take me to the police
station, I will call my folks, they will give you 500-1000 rupees, and you will release me"). The other policeman laughed.
9) The balding policmen laid his arm upon the shoulder of the boy, and said, "pachaas hazaar rupaye ka jurmaana hai, aur chheh (6) mahine ki sazaa hai. Sirf smell of
alcohol chahiye. Dukaandar manaa kar raha hai (pointing to the khokha-wallah) aur tu phir bhi pee raha hai?" ("There is a 50 thousand rupee fine, and 6 months in jail.
Only the smell of alcohol is required. The shopkeeper is telling you to stop, but you are still drinking?"). The boy took out one black mobile phone from his pocket
and pressed a few buttons on it, but did not bring the mobile phone to his ear. Then he took out another black mobile phone and repeated the identical process. This
whole process of pressing buttons did not take more than a minute. Then this balding young policeman took him away.
10) The chaiwallah commented that the boy did not say anything at all about hazaar paanch sau rupaye, and that this was an invention of the "ganja". The khokha-wallah
said that "achha kya policewale ne." ("the policeman did well"). I said to the khokha-wallah that arresting such a person is correct but slapping him is illegal, and
then I came away.
11) On the day of Badi Holi / Dhulendi, I went to the same market after dark, at about 6-7 pm. A few cigarette wallahs were open. As I passed one cigarette wallah,
this same balding young policeman was saying to one young man, "woh momo wallah khulla hai kya?" ("Is that momo wallah open?"). The young man said yes. He said okay
then get two plates of momos, but did not give him any money. I ignored this conversation and walked on towards the open space where the khokha is located.
12) As soon as I reached the enclosed but open-to-sky space where the khokha is located, I saw that the khokha wallah is not there, and I turned back. As soon as I
turned back, I ran into this same balding young police man, who was either rushing towards the urinal or following me with some suspicion in his mind. He said "dekh
ke!" ("watch it"), and I said excuse me and walked on. Hardly had I gone four steps that he shouted very loudly, "Kyun mud gaya ekdum?" ("Why did you turn suddenly?"
(using disrespectful "you")). I turned around and said "Meri marzi" ("I turned because I wished to turn"). He said "Kyun mud gaye ekdum?" ("Why did you turn
suddenly?") using respectful "you")). I said again that I turned because I wished to and I said that why did you slap that boy that day. He said which boy. I said the
boy with the beer. He said "shukr karo ke thappad maar ke chhod diya, bund nahin kiya" ("Be grateful that I slapped and left him, and did not lock him up"). I was
shocked to learn this fact, that he did not lock him up, since under Indian law policemen are only allowed to use force if someone is resisting arrest. If there was no
need to arrest him then why did he slap him? Or did he take a bribe and let him go? I said locking up is legal but slapping is illegal. He said, "Hum kisi ka career
kharab nahin kartey" ("We don't spoil somebody's career"). I ignored him and came back.
13) Did this policeman break any law? Does he have the right to wear a uniform?
14) One more thing that this cop said to me on this last meeting was, "tum bhi pee kay dekho, tumhey bhi bund kar denge" ("you too try and drink, we will lock you up too") to which I replied that I don't break the law. I should have scolded him for making a threat premised on a future illegal action of mine, which is unlikely to occur.
