(continued from last post)
Amit looked around; there were mounds of dust and coal everywhere. People were sitting and standing over them, not able to realize what was happening. If Ramesh Pal could have communicated to them, they might have descended.
At that moment nothing came to Amit’s mind except two similar instances in the past where after having solved the problem he had been scolded by senior officers- ‘Why the hell do you rush to every place ahead of the police force?’ they had said. But in last two instances, the mob assembly had build up after local incidents alone while here they were being incited by a hostile person.
Amit realized that during the union negotiations, the other parties had refused to sit in discussion along with Pal’s group. While Pal's group had refused to sit in discussion with Amit on the pretext that ‘the administration represented the interests of the management’. This lack of discussion might have offended Pal and he was personally hostile to Amit.
Amit’s security guard was getting restless. As a natural reaction to the situation his hand was reaching towards the arms repeatedly, only to be stopped by Amit every time. Thankfully, experts at LBSNAA discussed cases where they had organized ‘Kumbh’ and handled more than a million crowd in a day. Don’t provoke the mob, was the substance.
Amit thought again, ‘Good Luck, Ramesh Pal does not have a mike; he is not able to communicate beyond a distance. So they were actually 2 to 20, those 20 who had come with Pal. Using the gun would mean making it 2 to 1000’.
But those 20 people were aggressive- so every time some one tried to come forward, Amit pushed him back ‘slightly’ as if they were friends discussing some urgent matter and he did not want to be disturbed.
The act of provocation and ‘self defense’ had continued for some time. The small group surrounding them was confused what to do. They were not seeing the reason as to why to attack one harmless SDO except their leader provoking them for an event they had only heard of.
Then there was a loud uproar. The excitement now was for the two huge cranes which had reached the spot slowly after ‘successful’ administrative negotiations with the unions; thereby permitting their entry. The crowd moved towards the cranes, to see them from close and in moments there was Ramesh Pal left standing with his few followers and Amit with his security.
Soon the followers of the union leader found it better to leave the place as the police personnel were also arriving gradually.
The operations had started; Ramesh Pal had left the area, but the problem didn’t end that soon. A message was received through some police resources that some people had been sent with bombs - as in colliery area dynamite was easily available- to target them. The senior police official present had decided to leave the place and asked Amit that he should also leave, which Amit had to decline. Again, instances of desertion remain tagged to officers’ name for their entire career.
Now that the police was there, surely Pal wouldn’t come close but he may use someone else to create a nuisance, thought Amit. So Amit decided to call the local elected representative and requested him to come to the spot, as it was his area and his presence could be helpful. This was very unconventional way of handling a law and order situation.
While Government officials are easy targets, Amit thought, a wise ‘political leader’ would not touch his senior politician. So Amit decided to take help of this political person and his assumption proved correct.
For next six hours, the rescue operation had continued. 4 mutilated bodies were recovered close to mid night. The local political person had remained present for all that time. He was not only glad that the problem was solved but was also thankful that the SDO had allowed him to stay there all that time.
On his way back, Amit had dropped the truck carrying the bodies in the local PS. Next day he had taken salute in all the 4 Republic day ceremonies in Kalipur.
In a couple of months after that Amit had been transferred from Kalipur, to complete the ‘rural’ lag of his sub-divisional posting.
And today there was this news about Ramesh Pal’s murder. May be Pal should have sat for discussion with the SDO that day. He might have become very weak politically in his area since the administration could do operations against his will in his den. This is where some lower rung leader would have seen the opportunity to move higher, same way as Pal was aspiring through the colliery incident.
Amit realized that during the union negotiations, the other parties had refused to sit in discussion along with Pal’s group. While Pal's group had refused to sit in discussion with Amit on the pretext that ‘the administration represented the interests of the management’. This lack of discussion might have offended Pal and he was personally hostile to Amit.
Amit’s security guard was getting restless. As a natural reaction to the situation his hand was reaching towards the arms repeatedly, only to be stopped by Amit every time. Thankfully, experts at LBSNAA discussed cases where they had organized ‘Kumbh’ and handled more than a million crowd in a day. Don’t provoke the mob, was the substance.
Amit thought again, ‘Good Luck, Ramesh Pal does not have a mike; he is not able to communicate beyond a distance. So they were actually 2 to 20, those 20 who had come with Pal. Using the gun would mean making it 2 to 1000’.
But those 20 people were aggressive- so every time some one tried to come forward, Amit pushed him back ‘slightly’ as if they were friends discussing some urgent matter and he did not want to be disturbed.
The act of provocation and ‘self defense’ had continued for some time. The small group surrounding them was confused what to do. They were not seeing the reason as to why to attack one harmless SDO except their leader provoking them for an event they had only heard of.
Then there was a loud uproar. The excitement now was for the two huge cranes which had reached the spot slowly after ‘successful’ administrative negotiations with the unions; thereby permitting their entry. The crowd moved towards the cranes, to see them from close and in moments there was Ramesh Pal left standing with his few followers and Amit with his security.
Soon the followers of the union leader found it better to leave the place as the police personnel were also arriving gradually.
The operations had started; Ramesh Pal had left the area, but the problem didn’t end that soon. A message was received through some police resources that some people had been sent with bombs - as in colliery area dynamite was easily available- to target them. The senior police official present had decided to leave the place and asked Amit that he should also leave, which Amit had to decline. Again, instances of desertion remain tagged to officers’ name for their entire career.
Now that the police was there, surely Pal wouldn’t come close but he may use someone else to create a nuisance, thought Amit. So Amit decided to call the local elected representative and requested him to come to the spot, as it was his area and his presence could be helpful. This was very unconventional way of handling a law and order situation.
While Government officials are easy targets, Amit thought, a wise ‘political leader’ would not touch his senior politician. So Amit decided to take help of this political person and his assumption proved correct.
For next six hours, the rescue operation had continued. 4 mutilated bodies were recovered close to mid night. The local political person had remained present for all that time. He was not only glad that the problem was solved but was also thankful that the SDO had allowed him to stay there all that time.
On his way back, Amit had dropped the truck carrying the bodies in the local PS. Next day he had taken salute in all the 4 Republic day ceremonies in Kalipur.
In a couple of months after that Amit had been transferred from Kalipur, to complete the ‘rural’ lag of his sub-divisional posting.
And today there was this news about Ramesh Pal’s murder. May be Pal should have sat for discussion with the SDO that day. He might have become very weak politically in his area since the administration could do operations against his will in his den. This is where some lower rung leader would have seen the opportunity to move higher, same way as Pal was aspiring through the colliery incident.
1 comment:
Excellently written!!
What paid up in the end was the presence of mind. The grit and determination of Amit to stay back in those extreme conditions is really commendable.
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