Cops touch base with north-eastern community

A police van stopped near some Mizo youths and the driver yelled,“Nepalis,go back to Kathmandu!”,as a crowd returned from morning mass.

Game developer Kima (32),who goes by the online name Mizohican,witnessed the incident and wrote about it on his blog.

The post went viral. He invited Mumbai Police to discuss the racial abuse over a cup of tea. Kima adopted the Norwegian model where the Muslim diaspora approached locals to sort out differences over a cup of tea.

“Besides,I think tea is warm. People always end up opening themselves up and chatting long over a cup of tea,” he said.

The joint commissioner of police responded and invited him to participate in a departmental inquiry.

Kima went with a few friends,including a Maharashtrian,for a meeting at the office of DCP (Zone II) Nisar Tamboli Thursday afternoon.

“I met them yesterday. They had found the driver and also completed the inquiry. I said I did not want to press charges. We realised the incident happened out of ignorance,” he said.

“80 per cent of my friends are from other states,” Kima said. “It was important that they (police) understood us. Just because you do not see many of us,you do not assume we are not Indians. This hurt as it came from a police personnel,someone who we look at for security.”

Kima said Tamboli asked the constable to explain his view. “The cop said he knew some Nepalis who had the same features. We then explained to him the names and geography of the seven states that form North East. We told him we are Indian. He apologised. We chatted for long and he was receptive.

“DCP asked him if he identified other people by their state or region. When he said no,he was told regional biases should not be encouraged.”

Meanwhile,at All Saints Church,Tamboli and his team encouraged “dialogue” between police and the north-eastern community.

“It was a wonderful occasion. They came in uniform and spoke to us. The officials allowed us to tell our issues. He (Tamboli) asked us to inform when such episodes take place. The community clapped and everyone was happy,” said Kima.

“We have taken this seriously. We have issued letters to all police stations with detailed instructions to ensure we maintain the right approach,” said Tamboli.

“By the way,we didn’t have tea. Everyone chose to have coffee,so I settled for it as well,” Kima said.

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