Friday, 9th June, 2006, 2:20 pm
I was on my way to office from my house after having a particularly satisfying lunch. I was riding my bike at ease(65 km/h is at ease for me) when i suddenly come across a Thane registered silver Maruti Esteem parked on the side of the road. The driver's door was open, and a man was opening the rear left side of the car. The man got inside the car and started brutally beating up someone sitting in the back seat. Initially I thought this was a case of road rage. I stopped and to my horror i saw that the person in the back seat was a yound boy no older than 10! And that man was presumably his father! He was brutally assaulting the boy with punches and kicks while the boy tried to sheild the blows with raised hands covering his face. The man stopped the beating in about 1 min and got out of the car and started hurling unmentionable abuses at the young child . By now a large crowd had gathered around the car. At the same time, a woman, presumably his wife, got down from the passenger seat of the car. I was hit like a punch in the gut when i saw that she was bleeding from the head. The man must have obviously assaulted her too. Her head had a gash and she was bleeding profusely. I had seen enough. I asked two guys on a bike to hold the guy off while i went and got the police. I peeled out of there like a bat out of hell and made my way to the police chowkey which was about 100 m from the spot of the incident. Apparently, the had seen the commotion and I saw 2 havaldars on their way over. I went to the chowkey nevertheless and confirmed if they were indeed going to the accident spot. I got an answer in the affirmative and I zoomed my way over to the spot again. But by this time the guy had fled and the police were puttering on their slow 100 cc Hero Honda after him, looking slightly bemused. I caught up with them and explained the whole thing to them. Another burly guy(about 22) was riding alongside us, looking as shaken as me. We asked the police's permission to chase the guy down and hold him till they caught up. On receiving the go-ahead, 4 of us, two guys on a Pulsar, the burly guy and me weaved like maniacs through the relatively moderate traffic chasing the Esteem and finally managed to intercept the guy in front of the Law College tennis coutrs. We signalled him to stop but he wouldnt heed. Finally i got right in front of him and stopped my bike in the middle of the road. He stopped as well and asked me angrilly as to why he had been stopped. By now a large huge traffic snarl was happening behind us. The police arrived just as the guy got out of his car. He saw the two policemen and quickly got back in his car and ran away. As we started our bikes to give chase again, the police sounded out the law to us. "This is a domestic squabble. We cannot apprehend him unless his wife lodges a complaint with us.Let him go". The 5 of us gathered there looked at each other helplessly. The burly guy remarked "Tyala dharun khup badvayla hava hota!"(We should have caught him and bashed him up!). Another elderly gentleman who had stopped remaked "Kasa zhala aahe manus aajkaal!"(What has happened to mankind nowadays?)
I turned my bike around and headed for office. Along the way i was thinking that what has happened to humanity today. Out of the 50 people gathered there why were only 4 of us acting for assistance? The same thing happens during the case of accidents as wel. That woman was badly hurt and in need of help. I will never forget that image of her crying helplessly in the front seat as the guy ran after seeing the police. Are we not living in a civil society? What can possess a man to manhandle his wife and children so brutally? And is domestic violence not punishable if it happens in broad daylight in front of 50 people? Why must the wife complain?
The answer to these questions will be simple and the same. "Its the system that need a change". What system? Who made this system? We did! And if we as citizens of the country cant help a woman and child from the brutality of her husband, we bloody well change it then!!
I was on my way to office from my house after having a particularly satisfying lunch. I was riding my bike at ease(65 km/h is at ease for me) when i suddenly come across a Thane registered silver Maruti Esteem parked on the side of the road. The driver's door was open, and a man was opening the rear left side of the car. The man got inside the car and started brutally beating up someone sitting in the back seat. Initially I thought this was a case of road rage. I stopped and to my horror i saw that the person in the back seat was a yound boy no older than 10! And that man was presumably his father! He was brutally assaulting the boy with punches and kicks while the boy tried to sheild the blows with raised hands covering his face. The man stopped the beating in about 1 min and got out of the car and started hurling unmentionable abuses at the young child . By now a large crowd had gathered around the car. At the same time, a woman, presumably his wife, got down from the passenger seat of the car. I was hit like a punch in the gut when i saw that she was bleeding from the head. The man must have obviously assaulted her too. Her head had a gash and she was bleeding profusely. I had seen enough. I asked two guys on a bike to hold the guy off while i went and got the police. I peeled out of there like a bat out of hell and made my way to the police chowkey which was about 100 m from the spot of the incident. Apparently, the had seen the commotion and I saw 2 havaldars on their way over. I went to the chowkey nevertheless and confirmed if they were indeed going to the accident spot. I got an answer in the affirmative and I zoomed my way over to the spot again. But by this time the guy had fled and the police were puttering on their slow 100 cc Hero Honda after him, looking slightly bemused. I caught up with them and explained the whole thing to them. Another burly guy(about 22) was riding alongside us, looking as shaken as me. We asked the police's permission to chase the guy down and hold him till they caught up. On receiving the go-ahead, 4 of us, two guys on a Pulsar, the burly guy and me weaved like maniacs through the relatively moderate traffic chasing the Esteem and finally managed to intercept the guy in front of the Law College tennis coutrs. We signalled him to stop but he wouldnt heed. Finally i got right in front of him and stopped my bike in the middle of the road. He stopped as well and asked me angrilly as to why he had been stopped. By now a large huge traffic snarl was happening behind us. The police arrived just as the guy got out of his car. He saw the two policemen and quickly got back in his car and ran away. As we started our bikes to give chase again, the police sounded out the law to us. "This is a domestic squabble. We cannot apprehend him unless his wife lodges a complaint with us.Let him go". The 5 of us gathered there looked at each other helplessly. The burly guy remarked "Tyala dharun khup badvayla hava hota!"(We should have caught him and bashed him up!). Another elderly gentleman who had stopped remaked "Kasa zhala aahe manus aajkaal!"(What has happened to mankind nowadays?)
I turned my bike around and headed for office. Along the way i was thinking that what has happened to humanity today. Out of the 50 people gathered there why were only 4 of us acting for assistance? The same thing happens during the case of accidents as wel. That woman was badly hurt and in need of help. I will never forget that image of her crying helplessly in the front seat as the guy ran after seeing the police. Are we not living in a civil society? What can possess a man to manhandle his wife and children so brutally? And is domestic violence not punishable if it happens in broad daylight in front of 50 people? Why must the wife complain?
The answer to these questions will be simple and the same. "Its the system that need a change". What system? Who made this system? We did! And if we as citizens of the country cant help a woman and child from the brutality of her husband, we bloody well change it then!!
2 comments:
good work done... proud to know you and say that you are my friend.
hmmm. well dat is d sad truth :I . wev lost it all, but not quite. des police chaps. take interest only wen dey can c cash .duffers dey r
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