Who knew that a “first salary treat” for a copywriter from her colleague would turn into a nightmare that would scar her for the rest of her life? On her way back from her little party, she had to endure humiliation and harassment allegedly at the hands of policmen who not only beat up her friend with whom she was riding pillion but also forced him to pay Rs. 1,500 fine for drunken driving without being issued a receipt.
But, the victim, Joanna Banerjee, has now launched a campaign on Facebook highlighting her plight, seeking support from her friends.
Ms. Banerjee narrates her ordeal thus: “I get it. I’m an outsider. Just like those who fled Bangalore recently; I am a Bengali and I might need to flee too. And for a person like me, this realisation is as good as ‘murder’,” she writes about her experience under the title: Justice, the power and manhood.
Recalling the incident on Wednesday night, she writes, “We ate, talked, bonded, and of course, had had a drink. On our way back, my friend and me were stopped at a picketing point for drunken driving.”
‘He was drunk’
“My friend was drunk. He had consumed alcohol and deserved to be stopped. Being the conscientious Bengali that he is, he offered to pay the legal fine and get his bike back. I was expecting to see my friend get a receipt for his fine and leave. But, Sub Inspector of Police Govindappa of Shivajinagar Traffic Police Station rejected the driving licence stating that it was a ‘Bengal license’. ‘Ye nahi chalega, yeh Bengal ka licence hai, yehan nahi chalta hai. Yehan Karnataka aur international driving licence chalta hai’,” she quotes the policeman as saying.
At this point, according to Ms. Banerjee, her friend walked away to light a cigarette, which annoyed the policemen. “This is when Hitendra M.S., Sub Inspector, Shivajinagar Traffic Police Station, started demanding that the cigarette be stubbed,” she says.
Sensing trouble, Ms. Banerjee tried to intervene, but the Sub Inspector warned her friend asking him to tell her that she stop talking. “At this point, my friend got angry but before he could say anything, he was hit,” she says. The Sub Inspector was joined by not only the other policemen but also a few passersby.
When Ms. Banerjee tried to stop the policemen from assaulting her friend, she was allegedly abused.
The ordeal continued when the two were taken to a police station, where they were detained for about seven hours and forced to tender a written apology.
When they did not agree to give an apology, they were sent to a hospital for medical examination.
“Fearing severe repercussions, we chose to apologise,” Ms. Banerjee adds.
The alleged harassment was continued two days after when her friend went to the police station to pay the fine and retrieve his bike. Mr. Hitendra allegedly made him wait for a long time and is said to have passed lewd remarks against Ms. Banerjee.
She says that though the bike was returned, her friend did not get a receipt for the fine he paid.
Inquiry
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Lokesh Kumar said that an inquiry has been initiated. “We would approach the two to register their complaint and take action,” he said.
He said that inquiries revealed that the two created public nuisance and misbehaved with the police under the influence of alcohol. They were subjected to medical test and imposed a fine for drunken driving, he said and added that they were asked to tender an apology.
