99 DAYS UNTIL I MOVE HOME!!!

Good Cop, Bad Cop

Okay, another update on my police case. I got a call Saturday morning from the police saying that they had the guys who hit me at the station and would it be possible for me to come in. I had plans with a friend for the day and I was in fact just leaving to meet her when they called so I told them that no, I couldn't come to the station that day but I could meet them on Sunday. I then continued on to meet my friend but found that she was going to meet me around 30 minutes later than we had anticipated so I went to visit with my dogs, Ram and Leo, who stay at the site that I was attacked. I was feeding them their biscuits and petting them when a police vehicle pulled up to the gate and the Sub-Inspector who took my complaint stepped out with the man who was the passenger in the car that hit me and several other policemen. I guess the police had decided to take the guys to the scene and ask them to describe what had happened, but they got a big surprise when they found me there! I described to the Sub-Inspector what had happened and he asked me if the guy with him was the driver. I told him that no, that guy was the passenger of the car, the driver was a bigger guy with a round face. He sent another policeman to the vehicle and he brought back another guy, the driver! I have been very worried since the incident happened that I might not recognize the culprits, it has been more than a month since it happened and I saw them for just a couple of seconds, but when I saw the driver I knew it was him. No sooner than I said that he was the driver the policemen started beating the two guys, punching them and slapping them and screaming at them in Kannada. A small crowd had already gathered to see what the police were doing and once the beating commenced all hell broke loose; the crowd swelled, Ram freaked out and started barking his head off (he is a great guard dog) and poor little Leo started yipping and running around so then I stared to run after him to catch him and calm him so that he didn't run into the street. After the police finished with their beating they hustled the men back into the police vehicle. I asked the Sub-Inspector if the men had admitted to when they had done and if they had given any sort of explanation for their actions. The Sub-Inspector asked if I would like to ask the driver directly and I said yes so he was brought from the car to face me. I began to yell at the driver asking him why he had done it, what was he thinking, what the hell! I don't think he speaks any English, or if he does he didn't that day, he just kept bowing and apologizing. A guy stepped in to translate and told me that he was saying he was sorry, he had been scared, blah, blah, blah. I told him that sorry is fine, but sorry doesn't change what he had done and how it has affected me. Sorry doesn't make me feel safe as I walk down the street or put me at ease in my own home. I also told him the scared bit is nonsense, yes they probably drove away because they were scared, but they did not hit me because they were scared. Unless two grown men in a car are afraid of a 130 pound unarmed woman. Ridiculous. I never got a suitable answer and the police asked what I wanted them to do and I told them that the men deserved to be punished for their crime so they were taken to the police station.

After all of this had taken place I packed up my things (my dog feeding paraphernalia) and went to leave as I was likely keeping my friend waiting (remember, I had plans to meet before this encounter occurred) but I first stopped to thank the translator who had jumped in to help. I found out that he is actually the owner of the car who hit me, the man who was driving was his hired driver, he had taken the car that day for service on my street and was making his way back when he decided to take some time to hit me. Apparently when the driver arrived back after hitting me he was flustered and upset and told his employer that he needed to go and couldn't drive the rest of the day. The employer knew nothing of the attack until the police traced the car back to him and informed him of the crime. Before I was able to go to meet my friend he started to ask me if I could drop the charges because the driver is poor and the police will beat him, etc. He caught me again after I had met my friend and again asked if I could call the police and drop the charges. I told him that I would call the police if he wants and ask them not to beat the men, but that I couldn't just let the attack go unpunished by the law.

Since the attack happened I have imagined in my mind what I would like to do to these guys, how I would like to knee them in the groin, stomp on their fingers and break every single one, elbow them in the face and make blood pour from their noses, but seeing them again on Saturday changed all of that. Once they were out of their car and in front of me they were transformed from powerful bullies that I feared to scared cowards that I pity. They looked terrified, as well they should be since the police certainly have no problems with beating them senseless. If they are happy to pound on them in public I can only imagine what they do once they get them back to the station. And I do feel badly about that, but police brutality isn't a secret around here and I would think that if one wanted to avoid it then once shouldn't go around committing crimes. Though I do pity them and I told the owner of the car as much, I also believe that they should be punished according to the law. Maybe they are scared enough already that they will never do something like this again but I feel that they have earned their punishment. But I have to admit that though I am not at all comfortable with the beating that they guys received, I at least know that some form of punishment was given as I saw it with my own two eyes. Even if one can perhaps not on the courts in India, the police can be counted on to dole out beatings quite liberally. There is no need for the good cop/bad cop routine here when the police can just beat it out of you. I'm still undecided on exactly how I feel about everything that transpired on Saturday, but I am pretty sure that I feel better than I felt before Saturday.

A Home for My Boys

I have great news to report about the puppy that I wrote about in February. I learned yesterday that the owner of the new apartments where both Leo and Ram have been staying while the site was under construction has taking a liking to them and wants to keep them! They will remain at the apartments where they can come and go from the gated ground floor car park pretty much at will. A couple of the workers at the apartment are staying on as caretakers and will continue to look after them. They will not be chained up, they are free to wander but have a nice cool place to sleep. And I will be able to continue visiting with them for the next 99 days (yep, less than 100 days until I move home)! This is great news, hopefully a happy ending for these sweet boys who have come to be great friends with each other and with me. I am hoping that the owner permits me to take Leo to my vet and have him vaccinated and sterilized in the next couple of months, but knowing that they will be cared for after July just makes my heart sing. A hero has been found!

Update

I thought I’d let you all know what is going on with my police case since I first wrote about the incident last week. I got in touch on Saturday, March 7 with another girl who had been attacked and she asked if I would be willing to join with her and the other women who had been attacked in Bangalore to meet with high ranking police officials to plea for action. I agreed and we set of in the afternoon to what I discovered was a protest outside of a central police station with more than 300 protesters, complete with media coverage and police control. A police official came out and addressed the crowd stating that there would be investigations into the cases and a meeting would be set up in 5 days or less. The media that was there managed to discover that I was also attacked and one after another, they came to interview me and ask what had happened.

The best part of going to the protest is that I was introduced to not only the other victims but also a coalition of lawyers (Alternative Law Forum) that have come together to help the attacked fight back against their attackers and the police who make it nearly impossible to file a complaint. I met with them after the rally and only then discovered that the complaint that had been filed in my case was not the correct one, a NCR was filed in place of a FIR. A NCR is a non-cognizable report, that is a report of a minor crime for which police can neither register a FIR nor can investigate or effect arrest without the express permission or directions from the court. This means that after the report is filed it dies and nothing happens. However, filing an FIR (First incident report) for a more serious crime automatically triggers an investigation. I am sure that the police filed a NCR in my case simply because they are lazy and there is no follow-up for a NCR and they took advantage of the fact that the person who filed on my behalf didn't know the difference between the two. After learning on Saturday that I had not got a FIR filed I made arrangements with one of the lawyers to meet on Sunday at the police station to file the FIR. After three hours at the station on Sunday I finally got the case filed and the police immediately determined the identity and address of the owner of the car that hit me. In case you happen to know him, his name is M. Sreedar and he lives at No 23/1 Velu maudaliyar Street Bangalore. The driver (whether he is the owner of the car we do not yet know) has been charged under the following sections of the IPC (Indian Penal Code): Section 504 of IPC; Insult intended to provoke breach of peace- up to 2 years incarceration and or fine, non-Cognizable and bailable. Section 506 of IPC – Criminal intimidation- up to 2 years incarceration and or fine, non-Cognizable and bailable.

After the FIR was filed the police came with me to the scene of the attack and I showed them what had happened. They asked if anyone that was there had seen the attack and I told them that I was certain that many of the people around there had seen it and I think everyone in the entire neighborhood knows of it and could likely direct them to more witnesses (I had already provided the names and numbers of two witness in my report). Just then a construction woman approached us who had seen the incident (I see her everyday while I feed Ram and Leo and we try to chat sometimes). I told the police that she had seen the entire thing, in fact she was standing less than 15 feet away from me as this thing happened. They spoke with her a bit and she seemed to corroborate my claim but when they asked if she would sign to attest to it, she refused. It's so frustrating, no one seems willing to get involved because they are too worried about themselves. In one of the cases where a woman was attacked she ran to a door to get away from her attacker and when she asked the lady at the door to call the police she flat refused because she didn't want to get involved. The problem with all of this looking the other way is that at some point these imbeciles are going to have to look in the direction that they have been ignoring all this time and I don't think they will like, or even be able to live with, what they see.

As of now the report is filed and I am waiting to see what comes of it but at least now I know I have the support of a team of lawyers as well as the many other victims who have taken the chance to fight back. Let's hope something gets done.

Law & Order

One of my favorite TV shows from home are the Law & Order series (the original and SVU, I hate the guy on Criminal Intent and can't stand to watch him). One of the best aspects of being addicted to these shows is that one is probably showing on some channel or another at any given time, the shows are ubiquitous. This is an addiction that has been not been fed for the past two years though as the show is not aired in India. This was a surprising to me as there are plenty of American television programs over here: Lost, Heroes, Amazing Race, 90210, and tons more. So why wouldn't such a popular show make it to Indian television? Well, I have over the past two weeks developed a hypothesis following an incident that occurred now two weeks ago that I think I am now ready to share.

I was walking home from work as I do every day and each day I stop at a construction site on a quiet side street about 2 blocks from my apartment to feed a dog, Ram and a puppy, Leo who I have written about before on this blog. Leo is the little black and white pup that I am still trying to find a home for. I like to stop in the afternoons and give them biscuits and water now that it is getting hot and just play with them and pet them for a bit. On this particular day I was kneeling down emptying the contents of a package of biscuits for Ram and Leo when I heard a loud noise. This noise scared Ram and he barked a couple of times and I looked up to find a car flying down the street. The car swerved towards Ram, trying to hit him and he began to run down the street to avoid the car which was pursuing him. I was shocked and angry and wanted to stop this person from hitting my sweet and gentle Ram so I jumped up (as any normal, rational feeling human would)and ran to the middle of the street and shouted out at the car to knock it off. I probably yelled at them something like, "What in the hell are you idiots doing?" or something of the kind. This had the desired effect as it did divert the attention of the driver from the dog as he slammed on his brakes and dirt went flying as he slid to a stop. I then saw he driver put his car in reverse (the reverse lights at the back at car came on) and I wondered "What in the hell is this moron doing?" Well, he hit the gas deliberately backing into me and knocking me into a motorcycle parked along the roadside. I jumped up and ran to the driver's open window and yelled inside at him and his passenger in the front seat. I didn't get to yell long as he again hit the gas and made his escape like the complete coward that he is.

It is not fun to go through an experience like this but unfortunately what follows in India is likely worse than the original offense. After the gutless moron had run away like a sissy a large crowd (maybe 50 people or so) gathered around me, they had been drawn by the commotion caused by barking dogs, a screaming woman and screeching tires. Luckily a couple of people who I have spoken to before on the street had witnessed the incident and were a part of the crowd. This is lucky because a good many of the group certainly didn't speak any English and were just gawking at the shaken foreigner so having a couple of people there with whom I could communicate was a big help. Several members of the crowd had noted the license plate number as well as the make and model of the car and I set off to walk to the nearest police station with three of the English-speaking witnesses (calling 911 or some equivalent is not an option, if one needs the police you have to go to them, not vice versa). When we arrived at the police station we were directed to speak with an old, pudgy policeman who barely even looked up from his newspaper as my companions related the incident to him in Kannada (the local language). He was not at all bothered by the incident that had taken place less than a quarter mile from his station and told us that I could not file a report at that station, we would need to go to a different station in Hebbal, a station around 10-15 minutes away by autorickshaw. I was not in the mood to drive all around Bangalore to try to convince unabashedly crooked cops to do their damn job, I just wanted to go home so I left the station and walked home. When I got to my apartment my landlords saw that I was upset and asked what was wrong and I related to them the day's events. They were concerned, but they seemed more concerned about me filing a police report. They were scared that whoever had done this might be a gangster who might have connections with the police (the police here are not only lazy and incompetent but are notoriously corrupt and can often be bought) and and that filing a report might put me in more danger or that the "goondas" might retaliate if I pressed them even if they were not associated with the police. This might all seem a bit overly-dramatic to most of you, it certainly was to me but this is reality in India, even in Bangalore, one of the so-called most cosmopolitan cities in the country. Most of my friends and associates later agreed that it was probably safer to not file a report with the police, and anyway, they said, most likely nothing would come of filing the report anyway.

After arriving back to my apartment I called Eric and told him what had happened and he was obviously angry and worried and he immediately decided to book a flight and come over to make sure I was alright. I had also spoken to some of my friends and they were kind enough to come to my apartment and visit with me for a few hours that evening. After a couple of days I received an email from my boss (who knew nothing of this incident) describing an attack that had taken place just a few days before mine where a group of women were beaten by a gang of men after the ladies had yelled at them for driving recklessly. I decided to speak to my boss about the incident and then learned that for the last month or so women have been targeted and attacked all over the city and that my case was not an isolated incident but rather part of a disturbing and sickening pattern. The attacks are perpetrated on women who are speaking English, wearing jeans or other Western wear (on the day of my attack I was wearing jeans and knee-length kurta (shirt)) and for what reason we can only guess. Most likely we have been targeted in the name of morality, culture and “public decency” by fundamentalist Hindus or pro-Karnataka factions. Because I learned that this is a new trend in Bangalore and not just an isolated attack I decided to file a police report, but by proxy. My institute offered to file the report on my behalf so I wrote a description of the incident leaving out my mobile number and home address to try to prevent police harassment and to attempt to be as safe as possible and an official from NCBS went to the Hebbal police station (where I had been told by the first police station to file the report). He was told that a report could not be filed at that station either and they sent him to a third station. Upon finally arriving at the correct station he was told that they would not file a hit and run report as there was no serious injury to me ( I had only minor bumps and bruises and a minor case of whip-lash so I didn't bother going to the hospital) or to any vehicle that I might have been driving. So apparently you can go around India hitting, slapping, pushing, running down, or raping anyone that you like as long as you don't leave a mark. I will definitely keep this in mind in the future. Finally after telling the police that I was a foreigner and I didn't go to the hospital because I was scared or some other crap the police did accept the report and have opened a case. So let's see what happens, I'm not holding my breath.

I have never been a big fan of the police in the US. They always struck me as out to get me, pulling me over for speeding to work when I was running late and hiding around every corner to hand out an expensive ticket for what I perceived to be nothing important, some stupid pointless law. Like so many other things that I took for granted, that most of us take for granted every day, I can now appreciate not only police but the also laws that they enforce. You think it's ridiculous to get a speeding ticket? Try living somewhere where speeding laws aren't enforced at all. When the law is meaningless then there can be no order and where there is no order there is chaos. And chaos is not safe, it is not comfortable and it is impossible to feel secure once you are confronted with the reality of the situation. It is disorienting to realize that you are powerless, that you have no ally or recourse in the event of an emergency and you begin to walk though life with your fingers perpetually crossed, hoping to stay out of harm's way. How one lives their entire life like this is unimaginable.

I don't know what is happening over here but the one thing that I do know is that I can't wait to leave it all behind. As I said, it is horrible enough to be hit by a car deliberately but it is much worse to know that there is nothing that can be done to either punish or prevent it and that the government turns a blind eye to this sort of barbarism. I am not sure what direction India is headed in if this is the new Bangalore. This sort of thing happens very frequently in the North but the South of the country has always been more immune to this type of behavior and I worry that this is the face of the New India.

Now I think that I understand why Law & Order isn't shown here, no Indian would be able to believe that a police force exists that actually does its job, doesn't expect a bribe to get something done and cares for the community (not to say the police force in the US is perfect but if you are hit by a car I am pretty sure if you call 911 a cop will show up right away and actually try to help). If Indians actually knew that something like this existed then they might stand up and demand better. On the other hand, The Shield is aired in India, a police drama that is probably much more believable to the average Indian based on their pathetic experiences with what passes for law enforcement in this country.

For more information concerning the recent attacks on women in Bangalore you can read these accounts and read this and this and this article in the Hindu