Delhi Underground

When Anna gave his supporters the slip

Activist Anna Hazare’s secret exit from Medanta Medicity hospital in the evening,without meeting hundreds of supporters who had been waiting anxiously outside the institution for days,left many disappointed. Particularly crestfallen were villagers who had come from different districts of the country on foot,just so they could catch a glimpse of their leader . One of them,who had come all the way from Rewari district to meet Anna,said: “I came here to touch his feet and seek his blessings. I know the crowd got unruly during his arrival,but that has changed now. While leaving,he could have at least come out of his car once and met the people. All our efforts have gone down the drain.”

Blind,at least when it comes to language

Delhi Police personnel need to brush up their English. On being asked whether a man who was abducted had been ‘blindfolded’ by the kidnappers,an IPS rank officer replied,Yes,it was a blind case and we had no clues.” In this particular case,a man had been abducted by his former colleagues and confined in a rented room. After that,they demanded a huge ransom from his family. The reporter had to explain the meaning of blindfold,following which he received the answer he wanted.

Keeping media away from Bhushan case

Upon being asked about the timing of the closure report in the CD case involving former law minister Shanti Bhushan,a senior officer said the police wanted to keep things discreet as everyone was busy covering the Anna Hazare agitation at Ramlila Maidan. The officer said they did not want the media to highlight in the case. The closure report was filed in a city court on August 26,when the Anna agitation was at its peak and journalists were busy covering the nitty gritties of the movement for the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Anna turns police time table topsy-turvy

Anna’s protest seemed to be pulling not only the ‘aam aadmi’ but police officers as well to the protest site at Ramlila Maidan. The Delhi Traffic Police diverted all its forces to the venue in order to handle the participants at the protest site,unintentionally ignoring the rest of the city. On an average,Traffic Police personnel prosecute nearly 10,000 people in a day,but while Anna was fasting,only three thousand were caught. The reason? Most of the force was deployed at the ground. With Anna keeping police on tenterhooks,many projects and meetings of the police were also delayed.