Friday, November 30, 2007

good cop, bad cop!


(came across this post on india uncut which prompted me to write this post.)

i recently came across a news article about someone we know being stopped by cops when he was driving to lonavala. though the papers were in order and he had a valid license, the cops accused him of being a private taxi operator without a permit and wanted him to pay up. when he refused they then found that he hadn't renewed his puc license. when they realised that he was a tough customer and one his co-travellers was calling up various people they drove off with his license.

and then there was this time when i spent a few hours in a police station when a friend and i were rounded up by the cops. our crime was walking in a group on the road during holi. we had to pay a fine to be let off. later i heard that the cops have a target of people they have to round up on days like holi.

but i've also had my share of 'good cop' experiences. the most memorable one being an incident at the delhi airport.

i was carrying my hp laptop in a bag which looked like exactly like what at least a dozen other people were carrying. after the x-ray scan in security i noticed my bag was missing from the x-ray machine belt. and there was another unclaimed laptop bag of a different brand. i reported this to the cops on duty.

one of the cops then mentioned that he recollected a man in a light pink checked shirt picking up a laptop bag which he felt was not his. he then came along with me to help identify the person in the large busy concourse. and he managed to identify the passenger too, who happened to have picked up my laptop bag my mistake.

i was completely dumbfounded and thoroughly impressed.

4 comments:

Shekhar said...

I think this good experience happened becasue its the CISF who mans the airports and not the State Police Force. Shekhar

Unknown said...

no such luck with mobile phones, ha??

Guruprasad said...

in fact i did get lucky with my mobile phone too.

recently on my delhi trip i had left my phone in the tray when they put it through the x-ray scanner.

later i heard an announcement about a phone that was left behind. luckily i was still around because of a delayed flight.

i realised i had left my phone behind and raced back to the security area. the cop i met there didn't give me the phone right away. he asked me to describe the phone and also asked me which number i had dialled last.

i didn't remember the number but i told him which name and number was the first one in my address book (i am not telling you which one :-) )

only then did he return my phone and he also refused to accept any cash or gift in return!

so i should notch up another 'good cop' experience.

Guruprasad said...

shekhar, i do agree with your observation that because it was the cisf and not the state police that i was so lucky.