Sounds familiar, seen it somewhere? Yes, it’s the motto of the Hyderabad police.
The newspaper photographs and television news clips of senior police officers launching awareness and crime control schemes come to my mind. Let me tell you the story of my brief late night ‘encounter’ with the guardians of the City.
That day the movie got over at 11pm and my forage in the kitchen and the fridge to pacify my growling tummy yielded nothing. I roped in my bachelor neighbour to try our luck and see if some trolley vendor is still serving ‘fast food’.
Halfway we ran into a group of friends returning after a movie and we were soon immersed in our informal review on the sidewalk. Oblivious we were to the lingering suspicious eyes of a two-man bike patrol that slowed to observe us before speeding off.
An approaching police siren broke the silence of the night air and our conversation. “The cops are rushing to help someone in distress…” my friend contributed with his educated guess.
Even before he could finish his sentence a patrol jeep comes around the corner and screeches to a halt before us and half-a-dozen men in uniform emerge to form a semi-circle around us.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you *^&#* know it’s forbidden to venture out after 11pm?” thunders their leader.
After a few moments of petrified silence my friend musters courage to ask what wrong we have done to deserve such harsh treatment.
Bleep bleep… Another generous dose of Hyderabadi gaali that would shame the filth in Musi followed.
I offered my enlightened awareness of the rights of a citizen and asked them which law prohibited us from walking the streets at odd hours.
Immediately a firm hand fell on my shoulder and the cop pulled me towards their vehicle. “Why don’t we head to the thaana, where I can explain your rights to you in OUR style?” suggested the policeman, flashing a wicked smile as he exchanged glances with his colleagues. They nodded in agreement.
Sensing trouble, another friend offered an apology for our ‘ignorant and rude’ behavior and ‘admitted’ we shouldn’t have been out on the streets at this time and pleaded with them to let us go.
The cops muttered something to each other and told us to get out of sight and off the streets before they change their mind.
We scampered to the safety of our homes, still sweating from the ordeal but happy that we could decline the invitation to the thaana.
Every youngster in Hyderabad has a similar tale to narrate — tales of getting verbally or/and physically abused by the police.
If people have to stay off the streets at night to make them safe, what are cops for?
The action of enforcing an illegal and arbitrary ban on venturing out at night speaks volumes about incompetence of the Force in identifying and eliminating criminals.
We pay taxes that go into the upkeep of the law enforcement machinery so that we don’t have to fear to walk on the streets even at the dead of the night. It’s an irony that the same agency that is supposed to ensure that freedom to us ends up denying it.
Freedom from fear forever… Yeah right… tell me about it!
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