A
Surprise Visit
In a major tribal district of Madhya
Pradesh, a young woman, clad in a simple cotton saree, and unaccompanied by any
one, walked into a police station in a remote area a little after noon on a hot
summer day. The thana was forlorn and unusually quiet. She entered the Thanedar’s
room to find the Inspector fast asleep with his feet on the office table, and
the rifle stacked against the wall in a corner.
‘Thanedar, Sa’ab,’ she addressed the
officer. He was enjoying his siesta, possibly after imbibing mahua, and was
roused from sleep most reluctantly after several calls by the woman visitor.
Still groggy, he asked, ‘Bai, bol, kya kaam hai? Sidhe kamre mein kyun ghus aayi?
Koi katal ho gaya kya?’
‘I’m the DM, and I’m here to inspect this
thana. Where is everybody else? Why are you sleeping in the office, and why
have you kept your rifle in that corner? Someone could easily steal it,’ she said.
The startled Thanedar sprang to his feet,
somehow managed a hasty salute, and rushed out to summon his subordinates for
the lady DM’s surprise inspection.
After her inspection, she returned to the district
headquarters, and issued suspension orders for the thanedar. A few days later,
the Chief Secretary issued a circular to all District Collectors, citing the
lady officer’s action as an example of how field officials should be kept on
their toes.
Sarita, a very popular Hindi monthly,
carried the story of the surprise inspection with the eye-catching caption:
Lady DM visits Thana in guise of a tribal woman.
That happened long ago. Recently, I asked
the senior lady colleague, ‘Did you, indeed, go in the guise of a tribal woman?’
‘No,’ she said, ‘I was new in the district,
and I had left behind my jeep and staff a little away from the thana. How could
the sleeping thanedar have guessed that the DM would walk alone into the thana?
There was no need for disguise.’
***
Note:
- Author's profile may be seen at http://amazon.com/author/pkdash
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