Delhi Girls Take Fast Lane to Easy Money

In her late twenties, Ramandeep likes to live life kingsize. To support her lavish lifestyle, she and her motor biker boyfriend Jasjeet commit around five to six chain snatchings in a month. But only after her husband, who works for a transport company, leaves for work.

This and more such cases came to light last Friday when Delhi Police managed to chase and arrest this couple from east Delhi’s Krishna Nagar. They are involved in around 15 such incidents in Delhi’s upmarket areas such as Barakhamba Road, Connaught Place, Kasturba Gandhi Road and India Gate.

“Ramandeep deposited all the stolen chains at Muthoot Finance and comfortably made around `1 lakh a month,” Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Beniwal said.

Delhi police’s next new ad campaign might just ask people to watch out for women riding pillion on motorbikes. Several incidents of chain-snatching have been reported in the capital, in which college-going girls, riding pillion behind their boyfriends, have grabbed gold chains from women on roads and escaped well in time.

Such boy-girl chain-snatching gangs operating on the city’s roads have been keeping policemen on their toes. Their modus operandi is simple. Girls ride pillion on motorcycles with their faces covered using a “dupatta” and target women pedestrians. Last year, Delhi Police arrested 44 such women for committing snatchings and most of them were found to be college girls. In 2012, only eight such cases were reported. This shortcut to making quick money seems to be catching up. Police say many more such young female snatchers are active in the city at the moment.

“While their male accomplices drive the bike, women ride pillion and commit snatching. It has become a new trend in the city and it’s disturbing. It is really tough to nab them,” said Beniwal. These women are active mostly at traffic intersections, market places where they can find easy targets.

Many such gangs are active at various traffic intersections at Lutyens’ Delhi and busy markets such as Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Karol Bagh, Janpath, Chandni Chowk, R K Puram, Lodi Colony, INA Colony and Greater Kailash. In some cases, these women are employed by male snatcher gangs, said police.

These snatchers are also active at Metro stations where they wait at the platform. When the train doors are about to shut they snatch valuables from bystanders and rush into the train.

Such gangs are active in other parts of the country as well. “In Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai too, women have started committing snatching on bikes. In the recent past, many incidents have come to light,” said another IPS officer.

Danish woman gang raped, robbed

On January 14, a 51-year-old woman tourist from Denmark was confined, beaten and gang-raped at knife point by eight perpetrators at Central Delhi’s Paharganj on Tuesday evening, police said.  The woman was also robbed of her valuables.  None of the accused has been arrested till Wednesday night while police claimed to have identified all the perpetrators.

The incident took place between 5 pm to 7.45 pm on Tuesday night at a secluded place situated behind Railway Officers Club, close to the New Delhi railway station.

The victim came to India on January 1, on a tourist visa alone to visit various historical monuments. After visiting Agra in Uttar Pradesh, she returned to the national capital on January 13 morning and checked-in a room for two nights at Hotel Amax Inn.  As most of the monuments were closed on Monday, she visited Connaught Place and India Gate area.

On Tuesday afternoon, she went to visit the National Museum. While she was walking down to the hotel with the help of a travel map, she lost her way and reached near B block, Connaught Place, where she a group youngsters. 

The victim asked a youngster for correct direction of the hotel. He tricked her and directed to take State Entry Road straightaway. She started walking down the road and found at the end an isolated place surrounded by bushes. 

In the meantime, two youngsters were following her ever since she enquired. When saw no way out of the road, she turned only to find herself being overpowered by the youths on knife point.

The accused robbed her of valuables including Rs 3,000, 750 euro, I-Pod and cell phone. The rest of youngsters in the meantime reached at the spot. They dragged her to the bushes and eight of perpetrators took turn to rape her, said a senior police officer adding that the victim resisted them but she was beaten up.

The perpetrators then fled from the spot threatening her of dire consequences. The injured and traumatised victim managed to come out of the road and took auto rickshaw to her hotel and rang her friends and family in Denmark from the hotel at around 8 pm. She, thereafter, called up embassy and then informed hotel manager identified as Pushkar who made a call to police control room at 9: 30 pm.

Immediately, a team comprising senior police officers reached the spot and met the victim at her hotel, where they recorded her statement. A police officer said that the woman was ‘highly traumatised’ when she reached the police station. “She was bruised on her face and neck,” said the officer.

A case of gang rape, robbery and kidnapping has been registered at with the Paharganj police station against the accused.  The Danish Embassy has also been informed by the police in this regard.

Where the incident took place, the Railway Officer Club’s employees said that there were uprooting a tent on at the time the gang rape took place and they have no idea the perpetrators were.

“The Lohri festival was celebrated last night. The labours were inside the premises. It is difficult to believe that a group of people took the woman and raped her,” the employee added.

The Joint Commissioner of Police (Central), Sandeep Goel told Mail Today, “All the perpetrators who are around seven to eight in numbers, have been identified. Several dedicated teams of senior police officers have been formed, pressed into service and the accused would be landed in police net soon.” 

The woman had refused to be medically examined and that the police were trying to gather other evidence. “The victim was supposed to fly to her hometown on Wednesday and she had left the hotel,” the hotel manager.

In the meantime investigating sleuths have detained around 32 people who are interrogated at Paharganj police station in the presence of senior police officers. The investigators said that the victim has promised to cooperate with the probe agency whenever required.

Foreigners raped in Delhi

January 4, 2014: A Polish woman was drugged and raped as she travelled to Delhi with her two-year-daughter. The woman, 33, and her daughter were travelling in a taxi from the city of Mathura where they live to New Delhi when she was allegedly raped by the driver. The woman woke up on a bench outside a Nizamuddin railway station in New Delhi with her toddler crying by her side, the officer said.

June 19, 2013 : Two sisters, hailing from Uzbekistan, have alleged that they were gangraped for several months by unknown men after being kept in confinement by a woman from their own country. The girls, who came to Delhi in January, claimed they were promised jobs by the Uzbek woman. They stayed in a hotel in Paharganj where they met the woman. The woman took the sisters to a guest house in Vasant Kunj where they were allegedly raped after they were served with soft drinks laced with sedatives, police said quoting the girls.

February 7, 2013:  A 23-year-old national from China was raped by her Indian friend at Hauz Khas in south Delhi on Monday night, after the two had attended a party. The accused, Tariq Sheikh, 28, a management graduate who works as a party organizer, was arrested.  The victim, who works as a trainee executive for a firm in Gurgaon, told the police that she and Sheikh were at a party in Malviya Nagar in south Delhi where he offered her more drinks and forced himself on her.

ENDS

Wedding crasher thieves are on prowl

If you are planning to attend a marriage across national capital region, beware.  Around twelve different families along with their kids gatecrash the wedding venues and on stealing spree.

These families belong from Pachore area in Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh. They come to national capital only during wedding seasons and stays at rented accommodation at different locations for around two months, specifically near the marriage venues. “The elder members of the family do not commit crime but use their children, aged between 10 to 15 years, to do it. All the twelve families work separately,” said a senior police officer.

During probe, the police found that not only these families from Pachore area are the only ones on prowl.

There are around fifty to sixty families active across three states – Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana – and committing such crimes. “All these families are from a particular tribe and they means of livelihood is committing burglary during wedding seasons,” said the officer.

Several such incidents have been reported from inside the marriage venues, particularly from South Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad. “Around 22 cases have been reported from these areas, this wedding season so far,” said a senior police officer.

The elders of family conduct reconnaissance at least three marriage venues in a day. During the night, dressed in classy attire, they gatecrash into the ceremony along with their kids. The elders get busy with food and interacting with the guest but their kids start their work.  The children keep an eye on bride, groom and theirs’ family members and relatives.

“When they get busy with the wedding rituals, they steal jewelleries and other valuables kept beside the bride. They also try their hands on expensive mobile phones. Once they steal, they leave the venue along with their parents in no time,” said the officer adding that they leave for another marriage venue.   They hire an autorickshaw for a whole night for Rs 1000.

The investigators said that they came to know about these families during probe into increasing numbers of such incident in last one month. The examined a close circuit television footage of a marriage venue and managed to nab one of the accused identified as Bunty.

During his interrogation they came to know that around twelve families, who hail from Rajgarh, are staying across south Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad and committing such crimes. The investigators, however, were unable to trace Bunty’s wife and his children. With Bunty’s arrest, the police solved three such cases reported from Kotla Mubarakpur, Mehrauli and Kapashera,

On tip-off of Bunty, the police managed to nab two more accused -- S Kumar (35) and his wife Sangeeta (31), both resident of Rajgarh, on Tuesday. “The duo were was behind several thefts at marriage functions,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) BS Jaiswal, who added that the arrests had helped them crack five cases of theft of Faridabad.

On Monday, Uttar Pradesh police arrested two such families from Gorakhpur for stealing gifts and valuables from wedding parties over there. They were identified as Prakash Sisodia and his brothers Vikky Sisodia, Deepak Sisodia and Sunita Devi all resident of Pachore. The UP police during probe found that these thieves used to take children with them in the wedding parties to commit crime.

The south Delhi police in co-ordination with their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have began massive hunt for these wedding thieves.

ENDS

Four juveniles commits crime every day in Delhi

Every day in Delhi, four juveniles are in conflict with law leaving investigators helpless and many such juveniles are involved in various crimes consecutively.

In 2013 till September, 1038 juveniles were found to be in conflict with law and there were apprehended.  “Many of them get out of Observation Home and again commit crime. They are repeat offenders but we are helpless as we can’t do anything,” said law enforcer, on condition of anonymity.  

The statistics are alarming: Till September, in heinous crimes 884, juveniles were involved. While in 2012, in 1171 heinous incident, including December 16 brutal gang rape case, juveniles were involved, in 2011, juveniles were involved in as much 757 heinous incidents.    

As per records, 1572 juveniles were apprehended in 2012 and were sent to Observation Homes. In 2011, 942 juveniles were sent to Observation Homes.

This year, 106 juveniles were apprehended in rape cases, 89 in robbery cases, 55 in murder cases, 47 for attempts to murder, 262 for burglaries and 111 for auto thefts.

With increase in numbers juveniles’ involvement in crime, the law enforcer agencies are feeling helpless as the existing law has tied their hands.

Around one and half month ago,  thirty-three juveniles detained at an observation home in north-west Delhi’s Kingsway Camp area, escaped from there after indulging in stone pelting, causing the explosion of two gas cylinders and starting a fire that gutted several offices of the Home, including that of the superintendent.

The staff of the observation home said that out of the 33 juveniles who escaped, 15 have been caught by the police. The rest 18 are at large. There was a previous breakout by about seven inmates from the observation home in 2010, according to the officials working there.

Five of these were again nabbed in brutal murder-cum-robbery at New Ashok Nagar area where they killed a middle aged woman while committing robbery.

Seeing the more and more juveniles’ involvement in crimes, the police is looking at Centre Government’s stand on this issue.

The parents of 23-year-old physiotherapist student -- Badrinath Singh and his wife Asha Devi – too recently approached apex court with a plea that criminal courts should be allowed to take a decision if to try juveniles like adults after gauging their “maturity and understanding”. “We are not satisfied over the sixth accused – juvenile – being sentenced for three years,” said Badrinath Singh adding that its not the government to take the decision on it.

ENDS

Loudspeaker in hand, Afghan man searches for brother...

A 31-year-old Afghan man went missing on December 31, 2011 in Karol Bagh. An interesting tale of two brothers ... One who got lost in Delhi when he came down to the city from Afghanistan for medical treatment and another who come down to Delhi to find his brother... In end both of them become good friends of mine...

Thirty one-year-old Jalaluddin Kamran from Afghanistan went missing from Karol Bagh market on New Year’s eve.

The family of the mentally challenged man has been wandering on the streets of Delhi for two weeks, searching for him.

His younger brother, Farhad Kamran, and mother Hakeema are trying to pull all strings to find Jalaluddin, after realising that the police efforts to search him have been next to negligible.

Farhad, who arrived in Delhi on January 7, has recently hired an autorickshaw and a loudspeaker at a rent of Rs 1,000, and has been travelling across the city.

He is trying to appeal to the public to help him find his brother. He travels around 100 km everyday and regularly visits Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Karol Bagh, Connaught Place, Malkaganj, Kashmere ISBT and Gautam Nagar, even AIIMS and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

“If you get any clue about your brother, call me on my phone,” these are the words of an investigating officer involved in this case. Farhad is employed as an IT manager at a Kabul-based NGO, Meher Educational and Human Rights Organisation.

The family is going to seek the help of the National Human Rights Commission as they are disappointed over the way the police have taken up the matter.

“Whenever I visit Karol Bagh police station, I am made to sit before a computer to identify my brother from over a thousand photographs of unidentified bodies,” added Farhad.

Jalaluddin belongs to a middle-class family in Kabul. His mother, Hakeema, had brought Kamran to Delhi for medical treatment at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in December.

On December 31, 2011, Jalaluddin went missing from Ajmal Khan market in Karol Bagh while Hakeema was shopping. Hakeema filed a missing person complaint with Karol Bagh police station. Farhad reached Delhi on January 7 in search of his brother. Farhad has been regularly visiting mosques, gurdwaras, dargahs, hospitals, railway and bus stations.

“I have arranged a list of night shelters in Delhi. Out of 64, I have already visited over 30. I have hired some boys to distribute and paste pamphlets about Jalaluddin across the city,” he said.

Moreover, after hearing their names, some people suspect them as associates of terrorist outfits.

“I have come across many who blatantly ask me if my brother is a terrorist. One evening, a group of young men tried to assault us. We had to flee from the place to save ourselves,” he added.

The family has also visitedthe Afghan embassy twice and the embassy officials have assured them help through the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

He finds missing brother

Five-month search for mentally challenged sibling leads to Kurukshetra

After seeing over 100 unclaimed bodies at mortuaries across the city, visiting 174 private and government hospitals, looking at dingy lanes, markets and religious places — temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras — and bus stops in the capital and neighbouring cities for the last 151 days, a 30-year-old man from Afghanistan traced his missing mentally challenged elder brother at Kurukshetra in Haryana on Wednesday.

Jalaluddin Kamran, who belongs to a middle-class family in Kabul, and his 65-year-old mother Hakeema, had brought him to Delhi for treatment at Ganga Ram Hospital in
December.

He went missing from Karol Bagh on December 30 last year. Unable to find him, Hakeema approached Karol Bagh police station and a missing person complaint was registered on December 31.

Hakeema’s other son, Farhad Kamran, who was working as an IT engineer at a Kabul-based NGO, Meher Educational and Human Rights Organisation, flew to Delhi on January 7 to trace his elder brother. He landed in Delhi with a list of hospitals, religious places, police stations, road maps and shelter houses.

“From January onwards, we started putting pamphlets across the capital. There is not a single lane that we have not pasted the pamphlets,” Farhad told Deccan Herald.
After that, Farhad for a few days hired a taxi and started visiting all religious places — where food is provide free of cost. Then he hired an autorickshaw and a loudspeaker  and travelled around for one-and-a-half month.

Realising that the police efforts to search his brother was negligible during the initial days, Farhad and his mother tried to pull all strings to find Jalaluddin.

“Seeing our efforts, Devesh Srivastava, additional commissioner of police (central), formed a special team to help me find my brother. Ram Singh, station house officer of Karol Bagh, too pitched in for help,” Farhad said, thanking the police officials for their support.

People around were losing hope. But he did not give up. “I was taught in school that ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’ and this kept me going. Apart from that, when I saw my mother every morning with pamphlets in one hand and glue in the other, my determination grew stronger,” said Farhad. He lost his job in Kabul and spent almost all the money his family had.

Despite facing problems at the Foreigner Regional Registration Office over  visa and being treated badly in some instances, he kept on looking for his brother. His search ended on Wednesday.

“A neighbour, Kubul Ahmed, at the guest house was going to Punjab to a visit a dargah on Wednesday. I handed him 50 pamphlets and asked him to distribute wherever he went.

When his bus stopped at a roadside eatery at Kurukshetra, he distributed a few pamphlets and moved on. All of a sudden, I received a call from a tea vendor that a man in the pamphlet and a man standing in front of him looked similar and he was asking for water,” said Farhad.

Hearing this, Farhad asked the vendor to keep a watch over the man for an hour.

Meanwhile, he called Karol Bagh police station and asked the officials to get in touch with the local police in Kurukshetra. Within an hour, the local police took that man into custody.

He rushed to Kurukshetra. “When I entered Shahabad police station, I found my brother in tattered conditions,” Farhad said with teary eyes. Now, with no money left, he is wondering whether he will be able to get medical help for his brother, who is also suffering from physical injuries.

I wrote for Deccan Herald

Three member of family gunned down in Delhi

Three members of a family were gunned down and two managed to escape when three armed people came in front of their house at south east Delhi’s Jaitpur and started firing bullets on Saturday night. The family lost three members only because they started constructing their dream house at neglected area of the city adjoining Delhi-Faridabad border and a neighbour did not like them.

Officially, the police said that the accused are victim’s neighbours and they attacked them over ongoing various disputes, including parking. However, the victims have reported the matter to the police numerous times before that they have been harassed and bashed up by the accused several times over six months. But of no avail

“They were gunned dead in front of their house by their neighbour -- Bir Singh and Sachin. They accused with the help of their associates were standing outside the victim’s house to kill them,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (south east) P Karunakaran adding that the duo has been arrested.

What a shame?

The deceased have been identified as Amit Mishra (26), his father Om Prakash Mishra (50) and mother Shanti Mishra (46).  Om Prakash elder son Sujit Mishra (29) and Sujit’s wife Sarla Mishra escaped, the officer said.  These people migrated from a Bihar years ago and worked tirelessly to earn money and make their dream house.

While Amit and Sujit worked for an Import- Export Company based in Okhla around 10 kilometers away from their house, Om Prakash also was employed in a garment manufacturing unit in Okhla.   
  
The incident took place at around 9: 30 pm at Om Nagar Colony in Jaitpur. The assailants fired around 25 bullets and few bullets at the main door when Sujit’s wife Sarla was trying to close the main door to escape from assailants and to save her three small kids who were playing inside the house.

On Saturday night, Om Prakash returned to his house and found that Sachin and Bir Singh were sitting in a car carrying guns in their hands in front of his house along with few others. He ignored them and went inside the house.

Om Prakash smelt a rat and telephoned his elder son Sujit telling him to be cautious while returning to the house. Sujit told his father to intimate the same message to younger brother Amit, who was about to reach the house. Om Prakash called Amit on his mobile but he did not take the call. Apparently, because Amit was driving bike and he might have ignored taking call.   

After few minutes, Amit reached in front of the house.  As he was approaching towards his house, Sachin deliberately opened the car's door which hit his bike. Amit fell down on the road and before he could get up, Sachin took out the pistol and pumped five bullets at Amit who died on the spot.

Hearing the gun shots, Amit’s mother Shanti rushed to save his son but Sachin and his associates started indiscriminate firing targeting her. He husband Om Prakash, who was following her to the spot, was also gunned down.

In the meantime, Sujit to rushed to his house from the nearby market to save the family members but they fired at him. Sujit ducked and fled from the spot.

The assailants saw Sujit’s wife Sarla was closing the main door of house. They fired at her but bullets hit the doors and she managed to escape.  The assailants fired several rounds at the deceased's house and even targeted several neighbouring houses just to scare neighbours.

Sujit said, “Sachin and Bir Singh have been indulged in regular fights and arguments with his family over petty issues, including parking for last five months.” 

Sujit informed police about the incident and thereafter, a police control room van reached that spot.  Amit, Om Prakash and Shanti were rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where Amit was declared brought dead on arrival and Om Prakash and Shanti succumb to their injuries.

“The duo had been threatening us to eliminate the entire family for the past five months and we have also made several complaints to police but they did not entertain us,” added Sujit.

 “We are investigating into the matter and all the accused has been identified and raids are on to nab them,” Karunakaran

Why they were killed?

Interesting, they were killed for making house in the lane where Bir Singh was residing.  Bir Singh had been mentally and physically harassing Amit’s family ever since they started living in front of Bir Singh's house.

Around a year ago Om Prakash started building his house after buying a plot in the same street where Bir Singh was staying. From then onwards, the disputed started between them over petty issues.   

“The duo had been threatening us to eliminate the entire family for the last five months. The melee began on October 7, 2013 over parking issue when we went to reside in two rented rooms situated right opposite to Bir Singh's house. He thrashed us but we decided to keep quiet,” said Sujit.

“Later, on October 22, Sachin misbehaved with my family and when I objected, he bashed me very badly after which we registered a case against him,” said Sujit.

He was arrested by the police but later, got released on bail.

On November 3, Sachin and Bir Singh again thrashed Sujit, Om Prakash and Amit and Ajit after which police was informed and a case was registered against the duo accused.

As Bir Singh and Sachin used to threaten them on regular intervals by whipping guns, they used to keep a distance from them. The duo, however, would always search an opportunity to pick argument with us, added Sujit. 

In the meantime, police kept quite over the issue and let the dispute and allowed Bir Singh and Sachin to harsh and beat them.

Now, Sujit, his wife Sarla, his three kids and another younger brother Ajit are left in the family to mourn the death of their parents and brothers.

Police as usual arrested the accused after they gunned down the three people. Had they acted earlier stringently they could have been avoided.

The locals complained that police are busy collecting illegal money from shopkeepers, builders and water mafias in the area and they are least concerned about the people’s problem. 

I just smiled...

Hi, Mandir Nagar Station House Officer is found to be involved in rape. There is allegation of sexual assault and I am checking.

This message popped up my chat box when I was busy writing a gang rape story of 13-year-old girl in east Delhi’s Nand Nagri on Thursday. Within two minutes, a similar note again erupted. 

It was around 7: 45 pm and deadline to submit was very near as I had listed two stories for the day.  I decided to complete the gang rape story and thereafter will confirm about the rape allegations against SHO.

My phone ranged after I wrote a paragraph and I could not ignore it as with was another reporter from different organization was calling up. The caller asked, “Do you any idea of Station House Officer of Mandir Marg has been accused to sexual assault?”  I replied, ‘Yes and will try to get details after 15 minutes.’  After saying ok, the caller disconnected the phone.  

I started writing the gang rape story….

A 13-year-old girl alleged that she was gang raped by three youths in north east Delhi on Thursday night. After registering the complaint of the rape, police arrested all three accused who were identified as local auto-rickshaw drivers, said police.

Police said that on January 7, the victim girl, who hails from Harsh Vihar area of north East Delhi had gone missing from her residence. Her parents lodged missing complaint with police after failed to trace her from all possible places.

According to the complaint of the girl, she left home and was loitering around Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital at night. There three youths befriended her and took her to a room.

From the description of the complainant, police have reasons to suspect that the girl was taken to an abandoned room inside the hospital premises. The girl alleged that three youths raped her in the room.

On Thursday the girl herself returned and complained that she was raped by three. She was taken to the hospital and after conducting medical test, police registered a case.

The accused three have been identified as Rehan, Saleem and Sonu — all local auto-rickshaw drivers at Nand Nagri. Sources said that still the girl could give a sketchy description of the entire incident. Police have started interrogating the accused three for detail. Cops also taking help of counseling to get a detail description from the complainant girl. “There are discrepancies in the victim’s statement and we are verifying it,” said a police officer.

After completing my story I called up additional deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma to get the information about the Mandir Marg SHO. He explained that there was no such incident or allegation against his junior. We talked for almost ten minutes regarding various rumours that start erupting during night hours. “It is just a rumour and there is no truth in that and no allegation of sexual assault against the SHO,” Verma clarified.

I wrote two words to the fellow reporter in chat who first fargi news. He called and said, “It’s not fargi and I got confirmation with Deputy Commissioner of Police SBS Tyagi.”

We argued for almost five minutes wherein I stated that DCP’s junior Madhu Verma stated that its might be just rumour.  He, however, stressed me to confirm. Before calling Tygai, I thought to check with my source. I called up my source who stated that it is a month old incident and it not a sexual assault case but sexual harassment case and assistant commissioner of police is looking in the matter.  

“The allegations were leveled by a woman sub-inspector working under him,” source said.

I called up DCP Tyagi and before I could say anything he said that it is a case of sexual harassment leveled against SHO a month ago and enquiry is on. As Tyagi and I share a trust, I asked him what the real story is and what he has found in enquiry. “A 45-year-old woman sub-inspector a child of two alleged that she was sexual harassed by the SHO. When we checked, we found that the SHO asked her repeatedly to come on time and she was not giving any heed to it and when he angry shouted at her, she alleged sexual harassment. We have conducted enquiry and he was clean chit and when we transferred the woman sub-inspector she went on leave for six months. Now, if you want to write story it’s up to you,” Tyagi said and I laughed and said there is no story.    

I left for home after doing another story that a man was charred to death when a fire broke out in the car which he was driving at Pul Prahladpur.

I was wondering how the heinous crime is now being used to settle score most of the times and how the real victims are ignored.

Next day, I was surprised to find that that a few newspapers carried this. I just smiled…

Sting is king in AAP era

THE day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal declared open season for sting operations against corrupt government officials, sales of spy gadgets went through the roof in the Capital. A Mail Today investigation that covered the Capital’s electronic hotspots, including Palika Bazaar, Lajpat Rai Market and Shakarpur, found a thriving spy gadget market where less than ` 500 can buy the equipment needed for a basic sting operation.

More money in hand only means more sophisticated snooping, and only the spy is the limit, discovered.

From spy cameras installed in mangalsutras, necklaces, earrings, and wristwatches to pens and key rings, sound and image recording devices are easily available for between Rs 500 and Rs 50,000. The gadgets are easy to use, and trendy to boot.

The one dark lining to the sting cloud is that most of the clever stuff comes from China, and there aren’t any warranties available.

Soaring sales

“ The sale of spy gadgets has gone up by almost 90 per cent overnight. Generally, we used to manage to sell around 12 spy gadgets but today I have already sold around 25 such gadgets so far,” Sachin Kumar, owner of Royal Palace Shop at Palika Bazaar , told Mail Today on Thursday afternoon. “ Some the buyers even talked about AAP,” he added.

Manoj, the proprietor of another spy gadget outlet at Chandni Chowk’s Lajpat Rai Market, said he had sold around such gadgets to AAP volunteers a few days ago, and that had bulk orders in the pipeline. “ It’s true, sales have gone up tremendously,” he said.

Miniature cameras are by far most sought after device, according to Manoj. The six hotselling gadgets, he said, were cameras in pens, keyrings, buttons, watches, pen- drives and eyeglasses. “ They are handy and user- friendly. One can charge the battery with Universal Serial Bus ( USB) cable and battery backup ranges from five to eight hours, depending usage,” he explained.

The spy pen and keyrings were available for Rs 500, after the mandatory round of haggling of course. “ The pen spy cameras almost similar at all the shops but the designs and quality of keyrings vary,” Manoj said.

Spy cameras installed in electronic car keys are also available but they come dearer, at between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000.

Funky as well and plain eyeglasses straddle a spectrum of price bands too, given their utility.

The cameras installed inside these are tiny but have high resolution as well as depth of field.

The most interesting item by is what Palika’s electronic hustlers call the SIM camera.

A tiny box, about the size of matchbox, and its applications have no limit but one’s imagination. “ One can put a mobile SIM card inside it and leave it wherever he wants to a conduct a sting. After calling on that number from anywhere, it gets activated and records video and audio of the entire room area as tiny cameras are installed on every side and send it to the calling mobile phone,” said Ajay, owner of Electronic Solutions.

That’s not the only way, Ajay said. “ Whenever there is any sound in the immediate vicinity of the box, it will call the paired mobile automatically. The device has an International Mobile Station Equipment Identity ( IMEI) number, and its cost ranges from Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000.

Versatile devices

“ One can use iPod headphones to adjust the focus of revolving cameras installed inside the iPod and hear or record from few hundred metres,” said Suresh, proprietor of a small shop in Shakarpur, adding that this kind of spyware is expensive and is ordered only on specific request.

Other shopkeepers remained dismissive about the AAP sting effect. “ Most buyers are school- and college going students; they buy it for various purposes,” one said with a smirk. “ A few purchase them to record lectures, and some to settle scores,” added another who claimed to sell 10 spy pens every day.

Written by me and published in Mail Today 

Paid sex and the city

Flesh trade in Delhi is a thriving business, with organised rackets guarding their interests fiercely. 

It’s a profitable business that hums smoothly when nobody is noticing. Flesh trade in the capital has taken the form of organised crime with a pool of pimps and girls, some of them forced into the trade, running rackets using all imaginable means.

Two Uzbekistan sisters were recently found trapped in flesh trade for the past five months in the capital. This came to light when they had a fight with their pimp, a compatriot, and they approached police. 

The woman pimp was arrested and during interrogation, police found that she had been running a prostitution racket in Delhi for several years.

In the capital, flesh trade is no longer confined to GB Road — the city’s red light area. It has spread across every nook and corner with a number of escort and massage service outlets running prostitution rackets. Some of them even advertise and circulate phone numbers.

From five star hotels to farmhouses to bungalows, sex workers can be called there over the phone. The sordid business is often promoted on the internet, making it difficult to detect.

“Delhi has become a centre for commercial sexual exploitation. Gangs run flesh trade in a very organised and secretive manner. It is only when information reaches police that some victims are rescued,” says Rishi Kant, member of NGO Shakti Vahini.

Delhi is a destination as well as a transit point for victims brought from the north-east, Nepal, Bangladesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. It is also a destination for cross-border trafficking rackets from Central Asian countries.

“The situation in Delhi has worsened as the human trafficking rackets have expanded their operations in the guise of beauty parlours, friendship clubs, spas, massage parlours and escort services,” says a report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released on July 4.

The traffickers have become organised, considering the fact that profits are very high. Despite the efforts of law enforcement agencies and other organisations, they have managed to expand the trade by moving the area of operation to satellite towns near Delhi.

Delhi’s GB Road has 92 brothels operating in old buildings, which house at least 4,000 women. There is large-scale trafficking of minor as well as adult women from Nepal and several Indian states.

The traffickers don’t just supply girls to GB Road, but also to the rackets that operate from residential colonies, says the UN report.

From the posh Lajpat Nagar and Saket to unauthorised colonies like Sangam Vihar and Seelampur, they run their business smartly and quietly.

‘Whatever you want’

A south Delhi-based pimp tells Deccan Herald over the phone that one can get a call girl from Rs 2,500 to Rs 10,000, depending on “colour and nationality”.

“Sir, whatever you want, you can come and check,” the pimp says.

The traffickers are so organised that they have divided the city according to their areas of operation so that there are no clashes between them.

Not just Indian women, foreigners are in the sordid business in large numbers.

Another pimp says on the phone that he exclusively provides call girls from Nepal, Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Chechnya and Kyrgyzstan.

While most are organised rackets, some women operate on their own. They wait during evening and at night at roadsides, and outside malls and Metro stations, looking for customers. But they are not successful most of the time as police keep a vigil in these areas.

While girls from other countries come to the city, a lot of Indian girls are also sent abroad for flesh trade. There has been an upsurge in cases of recruitment agencies taking women workers to the Gulf as maids and then forcing them into prostitution.

Placement agents from Nepal have also been using the Delhi route to send Nepalese women abroad for ‘work’. Dance bar agents from the Gulf have allegedly formed a nexus with some airport officials, who clear visas without checking their authenticity.

“Approximately 10-12 women get authorisation every day. Mumbai is no longer a popular transit point for trafficking bar girls due to 'harassment' by immigration officials. It is easier to send them via Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad,” says the UN study.

While there is increase in prostitution rackets in the city, Delhi Police too have intensified checking and have been catching traffickers. The city police have been collaborating with other states to pursue cases.

Police action

Many pimps have been arrested and call girls apprehended in police raids. “In 2012, some 118 girls were rescued from commercial sexual exploitation. Around 50 people were nabbed for running such rackets,” says special commissioner of police (law and order) Deepak Mishra. There are 12 anti-trafficking units in Delhi Police. They comprise trained officers working closely with NGOs and child welfare committees.

“In Delhi, the units conduct rescue operations with the assistance of NGOs whenever there is any information about human trafficking cases. The rescue and post-rescue operations are done in a victim-centric approach. Effective patrolling and vigil at locations prone to trafficking are being undertaken by the units,” says Mishra.

“A total of 271 rescue operations were conducted in Delhi in a year in coordination with NGOs. Numerous criminal gangs indulging in prostitution have been busted,” says a senior police officer.

Regular training sessions on anti-human trafficking laws are being organised for officers, with nine rounds of training conducted so far. A total of 500 police officers have been trained. Eighteen officers have been enrolled in IGNOU’s anti-trafficking course.

But prostitution is essentially an activity confined within four walls – and police say this poses the biggest challenge for them.

This story was written by me and published in Deccan Herald

Wannabe Godfathers of NCR

They are young, restless and brash. Gangsters in Delhi, restricted mostly to the city’s fringes in west and north districts, are like any other men from the rural belts, only that they live to kill.

Quite like the glamourised, stereotyped villains in Bollywood movies, the members of the gangs of Delhi get a kick from carrying imported pistols and automatic weapons — most of them illegal — and are chasing the dream of emulating local baddies who have made it big in the world of crime.

“They can kill a man for Rs 1 lakh,” says an officer of Delhi Police Crime Branch.

  

Easy money for them is a way of achieving a lifestyle that brings women, wine and five-star luxury. And for that they will do anything that needs a trigger pulled.

These gangsters are involved in a number of extortion cases, contract killings, abductions for ransom, attempts to murder and murders in Delhi and adjoining areas. When arrested they are remorseless, and act as if they have not done anything wrong.

“They feel that the crimes they have committed are their routine job like any other job,” says a senior police officer.

They start their career in crime when they are 18 or 19 years old. They begin with getting involved in local property disputes, and later go around with aides of dreaded gangsters of their areas.  

“Over a period of two-three years they become active members of gangs. They feel the adrenaline rush in firing a gun for the first time. And once they get guns in their hands, they start their criminal career,” says Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav.

Most gang members in Delhi are under 30. The bigger names are said to be in awe of a “political master” based in Gurgaon, who helps them identify targets and assigns lucrative tasks. The master, when these gangsters face bad days, provides them hideouts, money and then the next target.

The gangsters too aspire to enter politics later in life or become the musclemen of some politicians.

A living example is criminal-turned-Municipal Corporation of Delhi councillor Kishan Pehlwan.

For over a decade, Pehlwan featured among the most wanted criminals of Delhi. He was considered as one of the most notorious gangsters in the capital in the past decade. At one point, Pehlwan, a former wrestler, faced several criminal cases, including murder charges, and carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh for anyone providing information leading to his arrest.

He started out with a tender mafia in the early 1990s, and entered the extortion business later. But he started maintaining a low profile after his men shot dead Anoop of Anoop-Balraj gang in 2004. At least 27 murder cases were registered against him.

Pehlwan was arrested in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. He later entered politics, and also ensured his younger brother, Bharat Singh, 35, became a Member of Legislative Assembly.

In 2012, Bharat Singh was shot at. After the attempt on his life, Delhi Police in a seeming bid to crack down on self-styled gang lords operating in the National Capital Region, drew a list of some of the most wanted men known to lead loosely-knit gangs that maraud and terrorise Delhi at will.

In the past one year, police have arrested some 40 people, including six wanted gangsters, from the city’s outer parts, particularly south-west and outer Delhi. After a year-long chase, police caught up with notorious gangster Neeraj Bawana, 21. Wanted in a number of extortion cases and carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh, he was arrested in Rohini last year.

Neeraj became a ‘wanted man’ after he made an extortion call to MLA Jaswant Rana in May 2012. He demanded Rs 50 lakh from the MLA, police said. In all, he is wanted in 12 criminal cases — nine in Delhi and three in Haryana.

Among the top 10

Similarly, Manoj Morkheri, who is among the top 10 criminals in Delhi, was arrested after a shootout in March this year. He was allegedly involved in the killing of a Haryana police inspector.

Morkheri and two of his associates, Vivek and Praveen, were arrested while another person Rakesh, a former wrestler, died in the encounter that took place in Alipur in March, says Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav.

During his school days, Rakesh was inclined towards wrestling and started practising in Chattarsal Stadium from January 2003. “In a very short span of time he became famous in wrestling. He won the bronze medal in Senior State Wrestling Championship held in Delhi in 2006. In 2007, he won gold medal in the same championship and became the state champion. In 2007, he also won bronze in Rajeev Gandhi Gold Cup,” says the officer, and adds that thereafter he took to crime.

The gangsters may be outlaws, but they too have certain set of “principles”. They do not indulge in “petty” crime such as snatchings or thefts as it is viewed as below their “dignity”.

“They desire to earn easy money and become famous, and not get involved in petty crime as it hampers their image,” says the officer.

Businessmen and builders have been victims of these gangsters.

Some gangsters lodged in Tihar Jail operate from the prison itself. “They manage to get mobile phones and other items like alcohol easily inside the jail premises. From there they keep their illegal activities running. They also entrap small-time criminals and undertrials and make them members of their gangs,” says a police officer, who does not want to be named.

Infighting among gangsters happens frequently over territorial dominance.

Vikas Lagarpuria from Lagarpur village, Vicky from Jharoda village and Sandeep Mental’s gangs from Baba Haridas Nagar and Naveen Bali gang, have long been trying to challenge the dominance of old gangs in their areas. This led to the arrests and killings of gang members.

Unlike Mumbai’s gangsters, the Delhi ones operate only in the National Capital Region, and they have their own geographical boundaries.

“They commit crime to live a lavish lifestyle, and spend money on call girls, expensive whisky and SUVs. After committing a crime, the usually do not indulge in another crime till they have money. They have hardly made any wealth, except for those who turn to a political career,” adds the officer.

The lifespan of such criminals is also short. When they reach 35, they stop indulging in criminal activities, get arrested or live in prisons.

They either get killed before they reach this age or try to look for some political affiliation.

This story was written by me and published in Deccan Herald

Why people protest at Jantar Mantar?

When King Jai Singh II of Jaipur built Jantar Mantar in 1724 as an astronomical observatory, he would never have imagined that the place will become more famous across the world for another reason – as an epicentre of protests and demonstrations.
   

From political parties to anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, those protesting against the government or just an individual, they all want to sit in at Jantar Mantar. 

Over the years, the landmark red structure located just off Connaught Place has been forgotten as a monument and is known more as a protest site. Originally built as a tool for calculations, Jantar Mantar is no more famous for as an astronomical observatory meant to graph the path of celestial bodies. Over the past two decades, it has become a place where people from across the country come to voice their concerns and demands.

And more recently, the monument in the Capital has become the hub of what can be called one of India’s biggest mass movements against corruption, led by Anna Hazare. To be precise, the venue of unending protests is not the monument itself, but the adjacent Jantar Mantar Road. “The place which is allotted to the protesters is just a half-kilometre stretch of Jantar Mantar road from Tolstoy Road till Ashoka Road circle, and particularly the 300-metre stretch behind YMCA international Guest House,” Anil Kumar, station house officer of Parliament Street police station, said.

Always a crowded place

This stretch is continuously flooded with people, all seated under pitched tents and peacefully protesting for varied causes. Holding placards, distributing pamphlets, shouting slogans and, at times, marching on Parliament Street, the demonstrators sit there from dawn to dusk. 

The place is also a hub of sorts for photojournalists.

The small eateries, kiosks, tea shops on this stretch have no dearth of customers round-the-year. Protesters have been been heading towards Jantar Mantar particularly from around 1989, after an intervention by the Supreme Court shut them off from Boat Club, a place nearer to Parliament House. Before Jantar Mantar, it was at Boat Club lawns – running along both sides of Rajpath – where political parties and others gathered to register their protest.

From Boat Club to Jantar Mantar

Things changed after October 1988. Mahendra Singh Tikait led thousands of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, along with their cattle, to the lawns of Boat Club. They took   over the place for about a week. Tikait supporters lit campfires on the lawns and  cooked their food there, Cattle dung piled up.  A public interest litigation (PIL) was then filed in the Supreme Court, asking that the government should find a new place for protests in the Capital.  “Thereafter, Jantar Mantar became a site for peaceful protests where crowds of up to 5000 were allowed. Similarly, Ramlila Ground became a place for peaceful rallies where  crowds up to 50,000 were allowed,” said Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat.  

From January 2006 to 2010, about 15,000 dharnas and 7,000 demonstrations, rallies and processions, altogether involving some two lakh people, were held at Jantar Mantar, said Anil Kumar.

But the biggest crowds came later.

When Anna Hazare started an indefinite hunger strike in April 5, 2011 to exert pressure on the government to bring in a stringent anti-corruption law bill, Jantar Mantar Road became the centre of his movement. People came from across the nation to vent their anger.   The fast, which ended on April 9 — a day after the government accepted Hazare’s demands — witnessed a crowd of around 50,000 people.  Since then, police have come up with 21- point guidelines for the protesters to maintain law and order situation in the heart of the capital.

Police have made it mandatory for organisers of protests to take a no objection certificate from the land owning authority before holding a rally. The organisers have to make arrangements for drinking water and medical aid at the protest site and they must not let normal flow of traffic to be hampered. The guidelines also prohibit provocative speeches that may offend people from any group, religion or caste.

“It is only after protesters ensure in writing to abide by the apex court guidelines, that they are granted permission,” said Bhagat.

With four or five protests happening every day at Jantar Mantar Road, local residents have sought restrictions. They have lodged complaints with the Parliament Street and Connaught Place police stations, saying the agitations have made their lives miserable. They have also gone to court.

The High Court has asked the government to look for new protest sites, while ensuring that protesters are not denied the right to express their point of view. With the government now scouting for a new site, Jantar Mantar might perhaps return being known for what Jai Singh II had intended it to be – an astronomical observatory.

This was written by me and was published in Deccan Herald

Saala, one more has come to become Journalist

Sometimes you get puzzled, you start questioning self and looking for answers. You meticulously try to decipher your past. You keep on doing this for many days. You approach dear ones for response, ignore things which you don’t want to hear. You want to listen what your heart yearns for. You begin to close eyes to the realities. You try to take your eyes away from past.  

You keep on wondering and questioning. 

When I look at myself 15 years ago, things were different and now things are still different. Then, I was focused yet confused and now, I am in almost same situation.

For eight long years, I have worked, lived and enjoyed being a journalist. I wrapped up these years of my identity in journalism and almost every major good thing in my life (personally and professionally) can be linked in some way to journalism. But now I want to leave news.

Almost around 15 years ago, when my friends were aspiring to become doctors, engineers, managers and Indian Administrative Services or Indian Police Services officer, I thought something different – Journalism. I was not in vogue and many of friends were apprehensive about it. I was brought up in an industrial town – Dhanbad -- which is known for coal mines. Most of my friends’ parents were employed with Coal India as doctors, engineers and managers. I too belong from same family background and my father is senior engineer. Convent educated, I was doing good. 

I live everyday with a dream to become a newsman after completing my schooling despite I used to 

never read newspapers. 

I shifted to Patna for graduation in 1997.

I was not very serious in academics and I avoided examinations however I managed through graduation with fairly good marks. I rarely applied for any government job. My only job was to interact and meet as many as people and listen to them. I am a good listener. I never disclosed people what I wanted to become. I had gone lived bad days during graduation. I had become local ruffian but was not involved in any criminal activities. I was involved in street fights.  

After graduation, I came to Delhi in 2002. Fair decision! 

I was not very serious enough about my career but somewhere in my heart, I always lived with a dream to become a journalist. I wasted two year though there was extreme pressure from my father to pursue management studies. I just wanted to study. I started loving reading and gradually writing.

I lied to parents and joined journalism course in a very small-time college where they do not provide placements and fees was almost negligible compare to management studies. I paid Rs 9300 for the course that I arranged from my friends and family. This was a first step towards my dream as newsman. 

Friends criticised.

They suggested me to apply for various government jobs and to pursue management studies. They mocked at me even few stopped interacting with me. In comparison to my graduation days, I maintained a very limited friends circle in Delhi. I stopped talking to many.  

I was struggling for survival. 

Money was biggest issue for me in Delhi. I was having and still having a habit of smoking and I was spendthrift. I was only able to mange to have food and after paying rent. Left with no money, I was tough for me to attend classes. I had to travel to and fro Munirka to KG Marg and for that I needed Rs 20 per day which makes Rs 600 per month.    

Seeing the tough situation I was facing, a few friends come forward to help me out.  Friend I made in journalism class helped me out. After 15 days of joining journalism classes in 2004, a friend offered in a part time job in a almost ‘dead’ magazine (as it was last published in 2000) where I had to type and proof read few articles. In a dingy outhouse of a posh bungalow in Vasant Vihar, I was assigned to do this job where there was only one computer. Left with no other option for survival, I took up the challenge and started doing proof reading.

I was happy but not content. 

While was studying and doing part-time job, I got a job offer in a small-time fashion magazine. I got an opportunity to cover fashion and appeal industry. The office was situated in Outer Delhi’s Mangolpuri.  I was a newsman and started covering fashion. But those were though days as I had to manage my class at Central Delhi, home at south Delhi and office at Outer Delhi. I almost travelled around 70 kilometres in various busses thought-out a day.  I was not performing well in office but was managing things over there. There was no one to guide or teach me and I was on my own. I learnt about appeal industry and fashion and was lucky enough to cover a few fashion show and able to meet Bollywood stalwarts.  

I was in high spirits but it did not last long. 

I quit the magazine job after I completed with journalism. I wanted to become real-time journalist – investigative reporter. I started looking for job. I started looking job in regular newspapers and news channel.  Unaware how one gets job in media industry, I started visiting newspaper offices. Surprisingly, except five newspapers – The Hindu, The Tribune, The Statesman, Deccan Herald and The Indian Express – and a news agency – UNI, I was almost thrown out of the office where security guards used to mock at me and ask to submit my resume to them. “Like you, there are thousands of people come to office to submit their resume,” said almost every security guard to television news houses and leading newspaper houses. “Saala ek aur aaya hai Journalist banane,” heard several times when thrown out of the offices. I felt humiliated and disgraced.    

I was depressed and desperate.

I was with no money and no job and have borrowed whole lot of money from friends. My roommate – Pankaj Kumar Singh -- requested me to join a weather news agency and copy editor as he was leaving it and joining Asian News International. 

I reluctantly joined. I started travelling from Munirka to Noida. I started learning about weather reports and forecast. It was interesting. I was asked also write report in Hindi for some news channels. I did not know how to type in Hindi and I was though for me. I managed to learn a bit of Hindi tying. I was fun and boss was happy with my part of job. When he spoke to me about my career and saw desperation to become a journalist, he referred me to some of his journalist friends but with no success.

I was still looking for job.

While the hunt for job was on, I got in touch with a professor of a media college who offered me a job of book editing. I started going to one of the biggest publishing house for training after few days leave from the weather news agency. But before I got an offer letter, I quit weather news agency. Unfortunately, I could not get a job at publishing house as they were paying pea nuts compare to what they promised. I left the offer arrogantly. 

  

I back on street with no job.

I applied in The Statesman through one of my classmate. I got a call from there for a written test. I appeared for the test but could make through. I cried a lot when I came to know about it but could share with anyone with a guilt feeling that I got an opportunity but I failed. I stop meeting friends and keep on reading books to console myself. 

It was of no help.

I was just managing things with no job in my hand. My younger brother Amit Kumar came to Delhi after completing BBA from Bangalore. We were staying together and he was applying for Master in Business Management.  He was managing my finances and was motivating me. I was hunting for jobs. A friend approached me with a freelance job of preparing pre-poll analysis with a survey company.  They were paying ok. I agreed and went to Sultanpur and Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh for around 10 days to prepare the pre-poll report. I visited these two districts and talked to various people and local leader and met infamous UP leader Raja Bhiya -- Raghuraj Pratap Singh.  Made few friends returned and managed to get few thousand bucks for survival. It was in 2006 before Uttar Pradesh assembly election. 

Hunt was on. I had lost hope and only few friends and younger brother were supporting me.  It was almost two years of struggle and it was one of the darkest phases of my life. It was my brother Amit Kumar and friend Anshuman Gungan who were motivating me.  I turned to drinks and yoga and started looking for jobs in small-time magazines for survival.  All doors were closed. It was like I was begging for jobs.  

The night seems to be very long. I was completely broke.  

Suddenly, one day Anshuman came to meet at Munirka and asked me whether I was interested to move out of Delhi. I immediately replied ‘yes’. He in front of me made a call to one of his friend in Rajasthan’s Jaipur and told her that one of his friends (me) was interested in joining DNA newspaper. He gave me her email id and asked to send my resume to her immediately.  I saw a ray of hope. I mailed her resume but did not get any response from her for a month. Anshuman asked to keep in touch with her but I was avoiding it. 

It was August 11 and I was consuming alcohol at one of my friends place at Laxmi Nagar on terrace at around 9 pm.  Anshuman gave me a call and asked me to call his friend in Jaipur immediately.  I said I will call her later but he got furious and angrily reiterated to call his friend in next few minutes. I reluctantly called her.  She told me that my resume has become victim of office politics and concerned Editor did not get your resume. “The editor is expecting a call as I have mentioned about you that you want to relocate to Jaipur from Delhi,” she said on the other said of the phone with a strict instruction to call the editor immediately. 

I said that I will call the editor in the morning but she insisted me to call the Editor immediately. I complied though I could not say anything to her about my current situation – I had already three pegs of Royal Stag whisky. 

After attending the call, I was in shock as I was asked to the call the editor in immediate basis. The friend of mine who was drinking -- Sanjeev Kumar Singh alias Laloo – boosted me with his motivation speeches and convinced me to make a call. 

I gave telephonic interview bring drunk.

Charged with the motivational repeated dialogues of Sanjeev, I ranged up the editor and found that The Editor was female.  I got more cautious. She asked me about my education background and present employment and past experiences. I honestly replied that I have no job in hand at present and I am looking for one. I told her about my past journalism experiences. She any how found my reply satisfactory and asked me to come to Jaipur by next morning and told me about the route and means of transportation available at that point of time. She then disconnected the saying ‘will meet tomorrow’.

I was totally blank. 

I told this development to Anshuman and his friend in Jaipur and Sanjeev. Excited over development, Sanjeev rushed to alcohol shop as it was 9: 50 pm and bought another bottle of whisky. I gulped two more pegs took an auto rickshaw to Munirka where I was staying with my school mate and very dear friend -- Prem Kant Mishra. He was also shocked to find me drunk and my sudden announcement of going to Jaipur at around 11 pm. He thought was saying this in drunken state but he after getting sure about the development allowed me to go to Jaipur. I packed my bags and went to Dhaula Kuan to catch a bus for Jaipur. I boarded a bus and went to sleep. 

By 5 am, I got down at Sindhi Camp bus depot at Jaipur. I took a room in a hotel and went to sleep.  At 11 am, I woke and gave a call to the editor who asked me to reach office by 3 pm. I enquired about the address and was looking for bus. But found that city has not very good bus services. I took an auto went to the office called the Editor and went inside to meet her. 

Jaipur is still a Pink city.

She welcomed me and interviewed me. Thereafter, I was asked to appear for a written test. I appeared for the test. After completing it she asked me to take a break for an hour and return to the office by 8 pm. I went again. As I entered, she saw me and told me that I have to appear for another test and thereafter she would let me know whether I have been shortlisted for final round interview.   

Tensed, I appeared for another test – Page designing on Quark Xpress. Thankfully, I knew basics of the software. I was trying to figure out how to make a newspaper page. Then a man named Rajeev Singh sitting beside me and was silently seeing on my computer and my face. He guided me with the style and format of the page. I anyhow manage to put up the show but was scared that I will fail in the test.

I submitted the print-out of the page and while doing so the Editor gave me a scary look seeing the page. She thanked me and asked me leave for the hotel. ‘Will intimate you,” she said. I walked out of the office with teary eyes. I did not know how to return home as there was no auto rickshaw. I sat a tea shop and sat over there and started smoking cigarettes and thinking about my life and past for long.  “What shall I do if I do get this job? What would I tell my parents,” I kept pondering. The whole lot of negative thought crept and kept taunting me. I kept smoking to keep those thought away.

I was lost.

 

Suddenly the man who helped me in making pages -- Rajeev Singh -- appeared before me and asked me what I was doing as it was around 11: 30 pm. I told him I was looking for an auto rickshaw but could get any and was wondering how I would return to my hotel.

Man a very few words, Rajeev did not speak much to me and gave lift to my hotel. I went to look for a liquor shop and bought a whisky bottle and had four pegs and went to sleep as I had to leave to Delhi next day. 

I woke up next around 11 am only to find five miss calls on mobile phone from the Editor. I call back her only to find that I have visit the office again for another round interview. I thanked god. I reached there by 2 pm and went straight to her. She without looking at me said to meet Human Resource Manager for another round of interview at first floor of the building.

I met the HR manager. She smiled and welcomed me and gave an envelope and asked me to check outside. She congratulated me for joining their organsisation. I was expressionless for little moment and started sweating and shivering.  It was unbelievable. I thanked her and went outside to open the envelope.  

I got an offer letter. I was offered a post a sub-editor in one of the leading newspaper -- DNA.

I took a deep breath went to meet the Editor, thanked her and rushed outside to the office. I wanted to madly dance, run, jump and shout. But I called up Anshuman, younger brother Amit Kumar, then my mother and father and thereafter Sanjeev and many more friends. I was crying while calling them and within few minutes it started raining. I got drenched in rain and enjoyed walking for almost an hour.  

I got an opportunity in a newspaper and will gradually become investigative reporter, I assured myself. The doors have opened and I am in. 

But things changed...... now I want to leave news. 

I’ve put a lot of thought into answering ‘why,’ and I have a lot to say... 

(To be Continued)