Dutt Verdict – Justice Served
Folks,
Got the news about the Sanjay Dutt verdict. While I do feel bad for the guy, the fact of the matter is, from a legal and a “justice for all” perspective, it is heartening to know that no one, least of all the bollywood types is above the law. The Dutt saga has been a constant one on self pity (he could not handle his success, his mom passed away, etc, etc). Other than Nargis’s passing away, all of his other issues are self created. It is not as if he has had major hurdles to overcome to make a livelihood, battles to fight or had anyone doing wrong things to him, so his “I had a tough life” is hard to buy, when 88% of the Indian population has a tougher life to pass every day and don’t resort to AK named guns to resolve those issues. Also one feels sad about the loss of his parent at a young age, but by the same token, a lot of us have to deal with that, in fact people in Bollywood have had to deal with that. SRK lost both his parents relatively young, Sanjay Suri’s dad was gunned down in Srinagar and I know for a fact that caused immense trauma to him and his family….but the point is none showed a flagrant disregard for the law of the land, as a means to overcome their pain.
With Dutt, observing him for a while, right from his Elphinstone college days (he was in college with my late sister), to his throwing his beer bottles on the street, etc, it has been a constant “I am above it all attitude,” which the judge rightly called out today in Mumbai. Sure the press machinery and all his friends have been saying he has been living a moral life for the last decade, but my response is, it is due to that he probably got 6 years and not more. So get off the “injustice has been done.” There was no need for him to have guns, normal working professionals don’t do that. There was no injustice done to him (hence no cause as was shown in the case of the others in Black Friday), there was no need to protect his family by means of guns (from what I gather the late Sunil Dutt was quite capable of doing that). In fact he has been treated relatively fairly for all his allegations in the last decade and been allowed to live a regular life, when he could have been behind bars all along.
I had written about bounced checks and how Bollywood thinks it is above it all. To me this verdict sets the record straight. You are a set of folks who show up in the morning, do your work, go home at night, like the rest of Mumbai based humanity, so act per the norms of the rest of humanity. Don’t go knocking off and killing people because you are a drunk actor, don’t go shooting wildlife which has been put on the endangeared species list, don’t go bouncing checks, don’t go buying and snorting cocaine at HSBC branches in Bandra, because you feel the PRESSURE IS TOO MUCH!!!! I mean , what pressure are you talking about. People live through Tsunamis, career crises, job losses, family issues, etc, etc. That is pressure, don’t kid me and tell me that showing up to face a camera is pressure. If you don’t like it, leave it!!!
There are a whole lot of other actors, actresses, industry folks who go through a lot more and go about it like regular people. This verdict is saying two things a) what those other people did was the RIGHT thing and more power to them and b) merely because you start your day in Film City, Goregaon, or Kamlistan Studios, as opposed to Nariman Point, does not in any way make you ABOVE THE LAW.
More power to a judgement which represents the new and coming of age India.
Sincerely,
Vivek “now let’s get back to doing our jobs, cause that is what it is, a job so start behaving like job doers” Kumar
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
I’m sorry. I don’t agree. I find the verdict horrible and way too harsh. He didn’t do any harm, he didn’t kill anyone and gets 6 years?? Man, in other parts of the world people get 3 years for killing a child. So in my opinion it is not fair. :(
he committed a crime, all right but six years is too harsh.. for illegal possession of arms they serve between two to five years.. no celebrity is above the law and law should also not alter itself to make examples out of people just because they are famous..
and capital punishment for Yakub memon sets a bad precedent, a man comes back to face the law , you send him to jail.. you can’t kill him
Vivek Kumar: your conclusions are equally harsh as court’s.
Sanjay Dutt might have a spoilt brat, but
(1) you/ we cant impose general misdoings of others on him,
(2) we are not in a position to comment on court’s findings. But verdict seems to be with an impression that it will set the record right.
Its obvious that law is enforced to maintain the system in the society but though its never followed but major motive of Law is to correct a person if he is going on wrong path.
Sanjay Dutt could have been served prison for 1-2 years but six years?
Many hard core criminals who have killed many many people will be given benefit of doubt but because Sanjay Dutt was kind of Trishanku so he got punished.
We are angry because BMW case’s accused does not seem to be convicted, we are angry because Jesica Lal’s killer may walk freely but Sanjay Dutt’s case does not fall in these. If he was taking really extreme steps then he could have become gangster as court says he reportedely knew D company’s masters and perhaps then it was easy for him to live in another country and living a life full of crimes but he came back to India and surrendered and followed the law of land.
Law is to correct one’s deeds and he had corrected himself. Six years is too harsh punishment. It reflects that there is no room for those who wish to correct their mistakes.
You are not on correct line when you say Sunil Dutt was very much capable to protect him. Perhaps he was but you cant blame emotional people, if Sanjay Dutt felt his father’s life was in danger then one cant go back in his mind to correct those hours. If he was involved in killing people with that AK 57 rifle then he was deserving capital punishment. But he did a mistake and his efforts to destroy the weapons tell that he was afraid of the law. If he thought he was above the law then he did not need to destroy the weapons. His fears tell and his fears of these days tell that he was not above the law. If he was above the law he did not need to plead in court room before public prosecutor and Judge.
we certainly cant impose Salman Khan’s killing the extinct category deers or Fardeen Khan’s case of cocaine on Sanjay Dutt. every case is different. You may be right that Sanjay Dutt’s case is a lesson for all but even then 6 years prison is not a justice to a man who showed no fondness for crime. What court and society will get out of this sentence , a civil society has to think in these terms.
Sanjay Dutt did not bring those RDX etc in Bombay. He too is a victim of wrong time. People are not judged for their behaviour in wrong time. This is also true Sanjay Dutt is not a powerful person like few politicians or a gansgter and hence he got this harsh sentence. Court’s strictness is all fine in maintaining the order of law but court seems to have gone far in case of Sanjay Dutt. Its a case of 1993 and one has to see what he has been doing since then.
and when you put a person among criminals you cant expect much.
Sometimes pardon change a person completely and a punishment brings evil in him.
This is a certain case of ignorance rather than of arrogance that Sanjay Dutt occupied the AK 57 because he thought he was above the law.
Govt. pardons hard core terrorists when they show that they would return to main stream and given all circumstances this decision to send Sanjay Dutt for 6 years in jail is very very harsh. It does not solve any purpose. This is not completele justice. This is overdose of justice.
May he get some solace from SC or if not from there then from President of India.
Vivek may be law worked in its fashion but today somewhere human values are given a shock. In India it has been a tradition that those who take path of atonement and try to correct them are shown mercy and considering the tradion of Indian society and its tradition which are several thousands years old, this decision is not only harsh but unprecedented. It tries to reverse the philosophy of Indian ways of life and this is a concerned factor. Its a blow. Not that Sanjay Dutt is an actor and people liked him a lot but court has shown no sign of pardoning the people who wish to change them for the betterment of society.
Agree with RK on all counts. And more than a “overdose of justice”, it looks like the law wanted to make an example out of Dutt. All round the world, it has been the case, where prominent people are made examples, but is that right way to implement laws?
Vivek: It appears from your post that you might have a insider’s viewpoint here. But from where I stand, I don’t see Sanjay Dutt any different than any other offender in India.
Going by accounts, lots of people do possess firearms in India, mostly illegal. And correct me if I am wrong, but it has never been said that he used them. To me this was a simple open and shut firearms possession case. The reason it became this big, was because he was Sanjay Dutt and he bought the guns from people who killed 200 others.
And the judge mentions that he attended parties hosted by Dawood. But the avid cricket watcher in me remembers a lot more people who showed up on screen during the coverage of Sharjah games sitting next to Dawood. It almost seemed that it was a way of like in Bollywood during the 80’s to hobnob with the gangsters. So to me it looks like he has been found guilty by association and made an example. And that I think it’s not how it should be.
So if this was a case of simple arms possession, I don’t know what the recommendations of the constitution are for firearms possession, but 6 yrs seems harsh to me too.
This is how a movie affects people. I too sympathize with Sanjay after the verdict today. Maybe “that’s” the influence of MUNNABHAI on me. On a different note, I’d definitely want HE GETS THE PUNISHMENT HE “DESERVES”. 6 years is way toooo long. At least he didn’t conspire in the blasts case.
6 years. I bet everyone will forget Sanjay in 3 months from now. At first, I am gonna miss him. The biggest drawback is we can’t get MUNNABHAI CHALE AMERIKA in 8-9 years. Let’s hope Supreme Court does NOT “FORGIVE” him but reduces the span by 3-4 years.
Just Getting Emotional. :(
And if this is to show “benchmark” or create “examples”, there are a lot ones to be prisoned.
At first, the Bachchans for land scam, tax dues, illegal foreign money import…can’t list it.
Though I have nothing personal against Salman, he definitely deserves a harsher sentence. Keep aside tampering with the ecosystem (read Rajasthani deer), shouldn’t he be punished for running cars on people and killing them?
Please get ‘em too to “reaffirm” the faith in judiciary.
I agree with RK.The judge Mr.Kode has said that this is not the final verdict and Sanjay Dutt can appeal to the Supreme Court.Hope he gets some relief there.
Its very difficult to understand public psychology.If he wouldn’t have been sentenced,people would’ve said that its unjust!
I think a milder sentence would have satisfied both the sides.
CFKaka A Ricci,
This may be the case of movie star but not for all. We have to see the results of such decisions. Hopefull Sanjay Dutt will get some relief from the SC. But this decision does not gell with the basic life style of India and Indians. Punishment cant be given to set records. and somewhere honourable court has maintained in one case that becauseof old age there is some relief, that means relief is there and then why not in this case where accused have been showing all the signs of improvement. Are we in a country interested in increasing number of criminals or we wish to reduce the criminal tendancy?
An objective analysis is lost in case of Sanjay Dutt. Punishments should not be extrapolated when right size of punishment can serve the purpose. and this is the point.
well we have to see what SC decides, there a bence of Judges will consider the matter and hence multiple minds will analyse the matter.
Yes, not only movie stars! See ALL politicians over the country are roaming freely will zillion charges on them. Look at all the ministers of Bihar. And a cricketer-turned-MP who kills everyone with his one slap.
At first, they should be held to reaffirm my faith.
I completely agree with u charles…chara ghotala…stamp ghotala…ppl behind behind these r big ministers who r free to enjoy…any such crime is ani-natinalism…ministers involved in Telgi scam r free…:-?
=anantha,i too feel Vivek’s viewpoint has some inside information. His post comes across as an outburst..
But all these reactions are more influenced by emotions than the objectivity and rule of law..I am all for reformative judicial system but one has to deal with ground realities as present now.
As per Arms Act the sentence ranges between 5yrs-10yrs..So judge could not have given him 2 years or 3 years.
Farooque Abdullah, the ex-chief Minister Of J&K remarked something to the effect that there are so many young boys and men who are in possession of illegal arms in the State, that does not mean they all should be put behind bars..This is twisted logic..Just because hundred others are not somehow coming under the preview of law, does not mean the one who is truly charged should also get benefit of doubt..Similarly law says hundred criminals may go scotfree but not a single innocent be hanged..So going by the law of the land Justice Kode has done his duty with integrity..No doubt Sanjay Dutt is a very nice human being and he agreed to his blunder committed 14 years ago, but Judge had to be dispassionate and go by the book. And Arms Act provides that kind of minimum sentence of five years and maximum of ten..Now its individual perception to view it as harsh or ok..Umpteen times our films have this cliche dialogue..Kanoon saboot mangta hai jazbaat nahin..And when a verdict is given on basis of the facts presented to the court there are such extreme reactions..In fact Tehleka had run a story couple of months ago on the confessional statements given by Sanjay Dutt and others..It had enough material to charge him for various acts of omission and commission(though Sanjay had later retracted his confessional on the grounds that it was forced out of him)..All said and done a trial longer than even Nuremberg War Criminals trial has come to an end..And i do join my film fraternity in wishing Sanjay Dutt a speedy recovery from this ordeal..God bless.
krysh: you forget court has given relief to an accused under same charge because of his age.
Now age can be a factor, then why not others. Moreover one of Sanjay’s accused has got benefit of POA.
Remove the celebrity factor for some time and see it in totallity.
We have to wait for SC’s handeling of matter.
In court even Tehelka people may be criminal because they used illegal means, though to expose corruption in certain sector. When they can expect objectivity in their case then they can give liberty to others also. Its one fact that its illegal to keep illegal arms but being humanbeing any Judge has to go little far to see the motive and whether arm was used or not.
Its all debatable and we will have to wait which way SC impose its decisions.
RK,yes lets wait for SC’s take on it..Because matters related to law are generally taken by courts of appeal..Facts are handled at the trail stage..Based on the facts TADA court gave its verdict..Now how those facts are whetted against tenets of law, its SC to decide.
RK, What Tehelka is embroiled in has wider ramifications, lets keep our brief to the case under consideration..Infact, recently Delhi High Court has lashed against the sting operations putting electronic channels on the backfoot.
Correction..And yes a spell check..In my earlier comment its trial and not trail.
do not be emotional or judgemental.lets see whats up next?
All the verdicts of 93 blast:
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/aug/01verdict.htm
Read verdict number 13, 14, 15, 16 and that of Dutt’s…as for my lame mind, i dont find consistency here…..
But OM
Also look at it like this…
Have 13,14,15,16 had TADA removed from over their head? Have they been allowed to be out on bail for all the time, while they waited for their decision,enjoying all the trappings of a normal life?
Probably not…I am sure that all of these and many other factors would have been kept in mind…
One has to accept that we are talking about one of the worst terrorist acts as far as India is concerned…And I think any country will give similar sentences…one has to look at the ground realities all around the world…with terrorist incidents happening every year…I do not think this is harsh…this is how it is going to be from now on…at least for those convicted in terrorist incidents…and I think rightfully so…we live in such a world…
I agree with Anurag and RK and the rest, and overall I have very mixed emotions on this issue.
On one hand, I am very sad to see that Sanju Baba has been given such a harsh punishment. I mean, if you read the summary of charges Om provided, most of these guys got 3 years imprisonment and Rs 25,000 fine for transporting RDX and arms into the country. 3 years for being responsible for bringing that destruction into the country in the first place.
And Sanjay Dutt gets TWICE that for possession of arms?!? Makes NO sense at all.
I was hoping for 2 or 3 years of which he’s served 16 months. Another year and a half (max) would be justice served. It would send a message to the country that no one is above the law (something I think India desperately needs reassurance in) while taking into account Sanjay Dutt’s track record over the past 10 years. It would show some consistency in the overall sentencing.
Anurag, I’m curious to know when you were doing all that research for “Black Friday”, did Sanjay Dutt come up at all? Did anyone mention any involvement?
My understanding is he got the 6yr sentence based partially on the possesion of arms and partly on his liasons with the underworld.
Then again, what do I know?
Here’s a link to how Dutt’s sentence affects the film industry:
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/jul/30dutt.htm
He’ll have one last release, Indra Kumar’s Dhamaal (guaranteed huge opening just based on the fact its Sanju Baba’s first film after all this).
Biggest blow will be the Munnabhai series, but Abbas Mustan’s Mr. Fraud and Sanjay Gupta’s Alibaug will be affected badly as well.
VC…i am not defending Sanjay here…nor am i saying it was harsh on him…maybe he got what was deserved..maybe not…but what i dont understand is…one person gets arms training in Pakistan with the clear motive of disrupting the harmony of the country and gets 6 years RI…where as another person possesses a AK 56 for personal protection ( i am sying so coz it was not proved otherwise) and gets the same 6 years of RI….and the person in question is not Sanjay alone check verdict numbers 47, 48 and 50.
btw what does removal of TADA mean and how is the punishment different for those not under TADA..
I don’t understand this whole sympathy wave for Sanjay Dutt. I’m not going to take any sides here, but I can’t stand people saying stuff like he has been a good person in the past decade and he should have been served a less harsher sentence.
Maybe you guys should take a look at the sentences served to other accused and then take into consideration the most important factor in India that drives people towards some form of crime…no matter how petty…and that is POVERTY. There are police constables who have been sentenced. Now if you know the salaries of these people and the kind of risk they face on their jobs, I think they face the worst pressures on a daily basis. They either get screwed by the mob or by their seniors.
These guys probably let in the RDX without even knowing what it was. They must have been offered a paltry bribe and they let the consignment pass through thinking it was drugs or gold/silver, etc. And I’m sure that these guys were kicked out of their jobs the moment the charges were filed.
So the constable, who came from a low income family to begin with was now probably without a job for the past decade, must have spent a couple of years in prison, his family must have gone through a gazillion hardships.
On the other hand, Sanjay Dutt lived lavishly on parole driving around in a Porsche…travelling around the world…earning a big fat paycheck for the movies.
And you think the sentence on Sanjay Dutt was harsh?? Then what about the poor constable?
Again…I’m not taking any sides here…just asking you to look at a different side of the picture.
Peace!
True. Justice served. No matter how much i adore Sanjay Dutt as an actor, i still wanted him to serve term in prison. If 100 crores or 1000 crores were riding on him, so be it. Let the industry lose some money. It doesn’t matter.
Now, time to get the next nangu pangu “Salman Khan”.
Let the procession begin.
If he was an American citizen and would have done something similar here outcome would have been lot more than that. Believe me!Although we know that he did nothing big but “LAW IS A LAW”. I have seen so many people serving life time here in America for nothing big…But yes they some how got in the situation where they violate the law.
Law is the supreme fundamental to keep any country and society to run smooth. 80% of the prisoners in the world are just those who just happened to be involve in crime without any major big bad intentions.
So We can say it was BAD LUCK FOR HIM. I’m realy sad for Sanjay dutt.
sanjay
Sometimes it feels that, its so easy to fool we Indians. The biggest probation Sanjay got was that because of his fathers power he came out of TADA. It sounds so foolish that the person who supplied arms to him is convicted under TADA for knowing the conspiracy and people think Sanjay is innocent. I belong to a lawyers family so I know each and every issue how public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam was stopped right on time of Sanjays TADA case date to tamper the verdict.
Its a misery that Yakub Memons bhabhi will serve for life just because the men of her family bought a car on her name and they used it for conspiracy. So if she is being accused of being part of the conspiracy then why not Sanjay.
And for those who think that Munnabhai has started gandhigiri after 14 years, here is Sanjays chat with Chhota Shakeel on July 2002
http://www.mumbai-central.com/nukkad/jul2002/msg01622.html
As far as sympathy wave is concerned it is extremely simple to figure out. Everyone wanting to do business with him or his White Feather films, will sympathize with him and everyone wanting to work with the people who sympathize with him will also sympathize with him.
As rightly pointed out, since nobody wants to do business with the constable/customs official who accepted the bribe, no sympathy wave there, au contraire, a wave of anger. Per the CNN-IBN poll this evening, 54% of people polled were for the verdict and 46% against.
Of course the funniest statement came from Shotgun Sinha in true “non commital” politician type (isn’t that how we are in most world issues) to the effect like “I feel sorry for him, sorry for his late dad….but having said that I feel the verdict was right.” Dude make up your mind..go one way or the other or don’t speak at all.
Let’s just say, if Sanjay Dutt was a Vet and ran a clinic called “White Feather,” he would have been arrested long ago and nobody would have known or reacted….it is all business meri jaan.
vivek u r wright that no one is above the law . but 6years is too much.we know he has done a crime and served also for 16mounth. and i m not a big fan of sanjay dutt .but i think because he is celebrtiy and the court want to show everyone through his case that how fare is our leagal system that is y he got this 6 years.
WHAT law of the land are we talking about? Why is nothing being done to those involved in the Bombay riots (after which the blasts followed). They have been named in the SriKrishna report..where is the report buried? If the law is ONE for everyone… why are those people walking free? Let me add, this is not in defence of Sanjay Dutt but in offence of those who are being shielded by the system…
It is a well known “FACT” that all traffic policemen are corrupt..Just depends on the right amount…
It is a well known fact that almost all policemen are corrupt and you can buy everyone of them with a bribe…
It is a well known fact that policemen are actually licensed goonda’s and their income from haftas goes into hundreds of crores!
You regularly see news report of police personnel raping innocent girls, false encounters, lock-up deaths etc…Everyone knows that once you are in their grip, they actually start negotiating with you on how much you can pay them and then they accordingly charge you. Infact, today the police is the biggest criminal in the country and every common man is scared to even approach them…
To depend on the police for your safety is foolish…Today there is jungle raj in India…you got to protect yourself…even from the Police…
In a similar situation like Sanjay Dutt, every sane person would have sought arms and ammunition to protect himself…
If a mob had attacked his house, by the time Sanjay Dutt had called the police and woke them from their deep alcohol induced slumber, the dutt family would have been cut into pieces. And to protect yourself against such a mad mob, a small revolver will not help, you definitely need AK-47’s and hand grenades!
Punish the Police for the breakdown of law & order in the society. Punish the government for giving the police such uncontrolled powers! Punish our law-makers for still keeping old british laws that are used by the Police for their own benefit.
Actually, there are no real solutions…except for the fact that our country is in deep shit…May god save us…
The main reason anyone is jailed to punish him for his mistakes and bring a change in him. In fact, the best punishment for Sanjay Dutt would be to leave him and make him pay 50% of his fees from all his movies for the education and upliftment of people displaced by the riots! This would have served the society better, given a chance to Sanjay Dutt to repent his mistakes and benefitted the whole society at large!
The government or the babu’s would never let any aid money reach the affected..that is a known fact..In fact, even the money for July 26th rain victims has mysteriously vanished courtesy our corrupt system!
All the court had to do was put in his care the children and people affected by those riots! Make him responsible for their future! I am sure Sanjay Dutt would not have taken this as punishment but see the good coming out of it!
Democracy has failed miserably. This is one of the biggest curse that Indians got…Demonicracy!
Vinayak: Your catching power of slips made by others is incurable
mercifully we dont have scientific methods to cure criminal instinct of men living in jails. we have bhajan keertan and darshan and updesh kinda therapy.
Lets give him the benefit of doubt and say that the verdict was harsh, based on illegal possesion of weapons. However there is no denying that he was involved with the cirminals, and he was absolved from TADA few years back and we know how he could come out of that.
For people who say he was punished cos he was famous, I would say he was absolved from TADA cos he was famous. If he were comman man he would not have been out of TADA jail and nobody would have bothered.
I still think he will somehow come out of this as well, pretty soon. Its a matter of time and I dont think he will server 6 years. That would be disheartning but am sure he’ll be bailed out.
Lets say 100 crores is at stake and the producers will probably dole out 5 to 10% of the money and bail him out. I am not kidding, this will happen.
@ Machchar – Has there not been a time when you offered bribe to the traffic constable or someone in the police force or a govt. office when you needed your work done? Remember that the person offering the bribe is as big a criminal as the person taking it.
And you generalizing that the entire police force is corrupt can also be extended to film stars. What is the casting couch? That’s a form of rape in my opinion. And when it comes to alcohol, I think no one can even compare to the drunken and doped antics of movie stars.
Oh and I don’t know as to how well you have observed the police, but if it was the case of responding to a distress call from Sanjay Dutt’s house or for that matter any other filmstars, they would be there in a flash. What you said about their slumber would probably hold true if the call came from your house or mine. You see, the police also happen to be “star struck” like you!
And since you feel that the police are useless, let’s all go and get ourselves some guns and advanced assault rifles. I need guns. Lots of guns.
Also seconding what is mentioned above, it was our “incompetent and corrupt” police which was able to get on and get the culprits rounded up so efficiently and quickly after the blasts, as documented and written about in various books and movies, including Back Friday.
It is this “incompetent and corrupt” police that has produced officers like Kiran Bedi, Ribero, Singh, Maria, etc, who, other than pride in their job have not much motivation to keep doing what they do.
As a common man growing up in Mumbai, right from when my dad’s car got stolen, to when my sis passed away, to when we had to be leave the house as the lease came to an end, this “incompetent and corrupt” police and legal system has treated me and my family, very fairly and I have no regrets.
I have also been told by the SF PD that the NYPD consulted extensively with the “incompetent and corrupt” Mumbai police, after Mumbai had the train blasts, to get their insights into how to tackle the menace of global terrorism
A retired NYPD police person once told me that if H-1’s were allowed for cops, the one’s they would love to get are the “incompetent and corrupt” Mumbai police, since they found them tops in their job, given the kind of environment they have to face and endure, way above the “competent” IT and Finance H-1’s, including myself.
Vivek, you mentioned some names of some “honest” police officers…that’s exactly how it is…you can count them with your fingers…but instead of identifying the bigger problem, apologists and NRI’s like you help in protecting the scum in the system. Do we need one honest police officer for every 1000 corrupt ones? Or is it not my right to demand that every one of the 1000 is honest?
Coming to FenderBender’s question if I have not bribed any policeman…well, I did..I do repent it..but for many years since, I made it a point that I will not…When I have to drink, I take an autorickshaw…In fact, if you see a vehicle stopping at a red signal even if there is no traffic around even at remote places, then it’s me…
I make it a point to follow each and every law…so I know I have my strength in fighting any effing corrupt cop!
And why are you guys always comparing us to fucking US of A? Are they fucking gods on administration?
To quote the above guy….
“I have also been told by the SF PD that the NYPD consulted extensively with the
@ Machchar – my grandfather was involved with an NGO that used around campaigning for peace in the riot affected areas. After one of their campaigns, he started getting threatening phone calls too. We asked for police protection, but were told that they can guard a particular area in general but not any individual considering the strain the riots had put on their force. I feel that was logical and the Dutt family was probably refused protection on the same grounds. The cops cannot focus on an individual with the entire force fighting the bloody rioters all over Mumbai.
But I don’t recall my grandfather going and buying an assault rifle or a pistol or even a rampuri for that matter. And just to put it in perspective, my grandfather lived a stone’s throw away from Kherwadi (Bandra) which was one of the most volatile and worst affected areas in the riots!
And you are talking about a lower middle class cop getting free food from Amar Juice center. That my man is collateral. The shop gives them free food and the cops protect them from the local thugs. Agreed that it’s not the way it should be, but it works. Now compare it to the crores of rupees in taxes that the filmstars owe the government of India. Did you forget of the Octroi departments impounding of the imported vehicles of the filmstars as they did not pay the lakhs of rupees in duties and taxes on these fancy vehicles?
Maybe you should try and recover some of that money so that the govt can improve the infrastructure and pay the cops better and do something to uplift the poor. You find it appalling that the constable got a 30 buck ride for 5 bucks, but you don’t seem to raise your voice when a filmstar cheats your government, and in turn YOU, of crores of rupees of taxes.
You have a problem that someone who earns a paltry Rs.5000 a month hitches a free auto ride, but you don’t have a problem when a filmstar who earns more than Rs.1,00,00,000 and buys a $80,000 (Rs.32,00,000) car and conveniently forgets to pay up the approx. Rs.25,00,000 in duties.
If the police grab the culprits, then you go “Oh, they were just doing their jobs” and if they err, then you are reaching for their jugular. Come on man, give the guys their dues.
Yes, they are corrupt.
Yes, they are lazy.
Yes, they might be in an alcohol induced slumber.
Yes, I get frustrated with them and have not always had great experiences with them.
But hey, I will always stand up and applaud their efforts in rounding up the criminals and keeping Mumbai as the safest city to live in, at least in India. If you have any female friend who has moved to Mumbai from some other city (especially Delhi) then ask her where she feels more safe.
You are just being cynical by saying “it’s quite easy to turn innocents into criminals”.
And it’s not about using USA in particular as a benchmark. It’s just about looking up to anyone better than you and using them as a benchmark. There would be nothing to be proud of if the police force of Timbaktu consulted the Mumbai police, but if the highly respected police depts such as NYPD from a nation that is a Super Power, consults with the Mumbai police, then HELL YEAH, I’m proud of it.