Comment Pieces

Memoirs of the Brave New Indian

Posted on April 08, 2013

"Write me a challan that you are confiscating the bottle and why. Then I will pour the contents of the bottle on the road in front of the bus and give you the empty bottle”. His vision, of enjoying a bottle of my single malt in the roadside check-post with his fellow dacoits, quickly evaporated. He stood up, and without a word, disappeared down the corridor and into the night. If you want to rob me, it takes more than a police uniform, I said to myself as I watched his retreating behind."

Unwary travelers returning from Goa who are spooked by khaki clad bandits or police or imposters dressed as police would usually succumb to their unruly behaviour. They either pay a bribe to save that expensive bottle of liquor they wish to keep for themselves or end up losing it to the greedy police if they cannot afford to pay the 'fine' demanded by the bandits, er sorry, I meant the police (old idiosyncrasies die hard, you see). This gutsy man who was traveling alone had the chance to not only come face to face with a group of thugs posing as policemen, but also successfully foiled their attempt to fleece him, and how! In short, he uses his wit to sucker-punch these imposters who escape before he practically invites a crowd to teach them a lesson. Enough said, just read the report.