It was certainly the most confusing moment in my life. I just could not connect the dots at that moment.
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This is a story from the Christmas of 2009- wife and I decided to take a random trip to Ooty. We lived in Bangalore at that time and driving to Ooty was always a drop of a hat decision and we drove there quite frequently.
At that time, the only car we had was a humble Alto – my wife’s gift to me as our first car.
We hit the road early in the morning with the plan to be at hotel by lunch time. Easily doable.
The roads are usually quite good but this time around, a little after Gundlupete, there happened to be road-work in progress and one lane was cut-off – literally. It was a 1/2 ft drop from driving lane to the in-work lane for a few kms. For all practical purposes, this was a one-way but then, who ever cares for it. When we were on this one-lane bit, an oncoming fast driving Jeep literally pushed us to the edge of the road – the edge which had the 1/2 ft drop. The rear wheel slipped into the drop and the car swerved. We were doing about 60-70 kph when the wife, who was driving, started to lose control. I yanked the hand brake to cut speed but we were headed to the fields on the other side. Just when all this is happening, a village riding his moped from the opposite direction choose to continue riding with God-knows-what-hope to pass by. Guess his mathematics was wrong and we struck his moped. We had certainly slowed down by this time and therefore, thankfully, did not run over him.
Did the first thing that struck my mind – checked if he was ok, made him sit down in my car and called Gundlupete police station myself and waited till the cops arrived. In the meantime, a mob started to gather. Thankfully, before that mob started to run their kangaroo court, the cops reached. I explained the whole situation, they saw the accident victim and figured it would be better to take him to the hospital in the jeep. I went to the Govt. hospital myself and spoke to the doctor. Luckily the wounds were superficial and he was treated as out-patient. The constables were with me as well and they noted the report.
We then went to the police station to ask what the course of action would be. The inspector called it a Minor accident and advised me to pay the victim for the damage to the moped and settle it directly with him. The victim, however, was a very innocent man and some loud-mouth from his village choose to mediate. After some shouting matches, we agreed to an amount in front of the cops and closed the matter. Peace was found and off we went to Kings Cliff Ooty to unwind from this mishap.
After 2 days of unwind time, we headed back to Bangalore. I had my flight to US in a few days after and I had to start packing etc.
On the way back, due to some brain-wave, which, in Hindsight, I shouldn’t have heeded to, I decided to go to the police station and a)check if all was ok with with the victim and b)take an incident report. Perhaps it was the good Samaritan in me that made me take this turn towards the station.
The movie sliding doors played out in front of me.
If I had chosen to drive on, everything would have been fine and life would perhaps be totally normal. However, I choose to stop and check post which a completely unforeseen set of events got set in motion. I don’t know who tipped off the aforementioned Loud-mouth who suddenly showed up at the station even before I sat down to discuss with the inspector.
When I last left from the station, Victim was an out-patient case, compensation was paid and peace was made. Suddenly, the same victim apparently is now at a situation where he was going to lose a limb and was in a serious condition. I am a doctor’s son and have a fair idea in reading the report that the Govt. Hospital doctor made and gave to the constable. It was a clear report of superficial wounds and the associated medicines related to just the same.
The situation now at the police station is now more tense. The cops are somehow not the peace-keepers anymore and suddenly, they started to sing the same story that the loud-mouth was blaring. At that moment, I too started to think it is true. In all the mayhem, I was told that the victim is in a hospital in Mysore. One of the victim’s relatives was now in the station. He didn’t seem to be as aggressive as the mob that now gathered again at the station. It was a one against many situation. I have literally no idea how I convinced them all that I would take that not-so-aggressive relative in my car to the said hospital in Mysore.
It was certainly the most confusing moment in my life. I just could not connect the dots at that moment. How can an individual who was reported as an out-patient case suddenly have dire consequences? All these scenarios are playing in my head as I hit the highway and sped towards Mysore.
Of all the scenarios, the one that stuck to me was where I was the victim of a scam with cops also colluding with the scamsters. I took one look at that relative fellow in my car. Contrary to the situation, he seemed calm. I was getting wrong vibes. Screeched to a halt some 30 kms from Gundlupete towards Mysore. Pulled him out of the car and dumped him right there.
My rage wanted me to beat him up right there by the side of the highway and leave. Tried to keep my calm and left him on the highway, without beating him, and drove on after belching out my mouthfuls at him. Immediately called up some friends while still speeding back home and located a lawyer I may need just in case. I saw that I did not pick up any tail.
Reached home with the sense of relief that the Ordeal is over.
Or was it?
After a few days of our return, I had to fly out to US for my onsite assignment. All these days there was total silence from the incident. If the victim was indeed in the serious situation I was told he is in, how come there is radio silence? My conviction in the Scam theory became stronger. We thought us not yielding to the situation was unexpected for the scamsters and they backed off. Life soon got back to normal. Me in US, wife in Bangalore getting on with life.
But then.
After 2 months of the incident, wife got a knock on the door. It was cops from the Gundlupete station. It was all too sudden and wife never even got a chance to call me. It was night for me too in the US. Lots of heated arguments concluding in, them having a FIR and intending to arrest the driver of the car which, as I had reported, was me. She was alone in a verbal match which, God knows how, she managed to turn it back on them stating that the accused is not in the country and they are mistreating a woman, who is unaccused and she shooed them off. Turns out, they didn’t even have the FIR they were talking about. She then called some of her friends who had some political connections for help just in case.
Wife thought the situation was managed but then, as the apartment watchman said after overhearing their conversation, the cops planned to come back with a tow truck and tow away my car which was parked in the ground floor of the apartment.
Upon hearing this, she immediately called few of my close friends one of whose father was in the Forestry department and had his Govt. quarters in the woods near Jalahalli. My friends came over quickly and drove the car away and hide it in the garage of said quarters with a car cover on it.
As expected they came back shortly looking for the car which was not where they had seen it earlier. They came back knocking at the door again. Another argument ensued and in the melee, wife asked for the FIR.
This time, they did show one albeit with fudged dates. In between all this, she called her friend again and told that they are back to harassing her.
A few minutes later, the cops get a call from afore mentioned politician’s office and some choice of words were delivered and they went away never to return.
All this drama happened which I was still sleeping in US. She didn’t even call me and managed all of this single-handedly just like Obavva did in Chitradurga fort. Reference.
My hats off to her crisis management skills. The situation was dealt with once and for all never to rear it’s head again. She too left to US a few days later to join me with the car still in hiding in my friends garage.
When silence prevailed we started to piece up the story. As you, the reader, may have also guessed, the Cops and the scamsters from the village colluded to skim money in the guise of a hefty insurance claim. I’m sure the original victim himself was completely unaware of all this. A lot of false paper work would have followed to make a quick buck and share the spoils with the cops. Heck, I wouldn’t even be surprised if it was the cops idea to start with.
A classic case of Fox guarding the sheep.
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