More than 100 people died in the bomb blasts and over 200 injured. It was one of the most ghastly terrorist attacks that happened in the country. The police had no clue on the culprits. The intelligence officials also had no clue. Meanwhile the opposition parties continued their verbal attacks on the Government. The media continued to cover only the news related to the bomb blasts. The pressure on the Government was immense. The Prime Minister then convenes an emergency meeting of the cabinet. The media personnel gather outside the meeting venue waiting for the Prime Minister or the home minister to issue a statement. After the marathon meeting that continued for more than 3 hours when the entire nation fell asleep, the home minister agrees to attend a press conference.
“Has the Government made any progress in tracing the culprits?”
“Yes, our intelligence officials have been able to pin point the source of the attack. We have clear proofs of involvement of a foreign terrorist organisation in the attack. We have sealed all our borders and hence the actual criminals will not be able to leave the country. The police officials are undertaking extensive search operations to nab the criminals.”
“How many days will it take to make arrests?
“Within 7 days, we will be able to make some arrests in this case.”
The heart of the state DGP almost fails when he heard the commitment of the home minister that the culprits will be nabbed within 7 days. He knows that the pressure will be on him to produce results.
The DGP passes the buck to the lower officials. The police department gets into a nervous mode. They must make arrests within 7 days without which the department will be termed as inefficient. Above all, any one’s head may roll.
Next day…
All television channels started reporting that the police made a breakthrough by arresting one alleged terrorist known to have links to the masterminds of the bomb blast. The DGP addresses the press conference with the nabbed terrorist behind him in a mask. The policemen stand on either side of the nabbed person who was kept in a mask. The DGP tells the press men that the arrest is a great leap towards capturing the master minds behind the blasts.
In the police custody…
The Circle Inspector gets into the room where the nabbed man was kept along with four other constables. The man starts trembling looking at the CI and the constables. The CI orders the constables to free the man from the chains and take him towards the bigger room. The constables oblige. So far no words have been spoken to the arrested man.
In the bigger room, the man was then tied to the roof by tying his hands with chains to the hook on the ceiling. Now his legs are hanging without support. The CI then hits hard on the man’s calves with his lathi. The man screams loudly in pain. The CI next gives a hard blow on the man’s ankles. The man screams again and pleads for help. But there was no one to listen to him in the room. Then the CI tells something to one of the police constables. The constable brings some sharp pins and hands over to the CI. The CI inserts the pins on both the legs of the man. The man continues to scream and his hands also start paining due to the pressure exerted by the chains on his hands. He cries helplessly and prays God to finish him off rather than subjecting to such third degree treatment. Blood drops start dripping on the floor from his injured body but the policemen do not seem to care. The CI then orders that the man be untied from the ceiling.
The man breathes easy thinking that God heard his prayers.
The pins are then removed from the man’s legs and he is made to sit in front of the CI.
The CI asks, “Now tell. Why have you planted bombs in the train?”
As the CI notices the man nodding the head in the negative, he uses the sharp tool in his hand to clip and remove the nail of the index finger of the man. The man screams unbearably and then the CI gives two hard slaps on his cheeks to prevent him from screaming.
The CI asks the same question again. The man admits to planting bombs in the train. The CI then leaves the room asking the police constables to do the rest.
The police constables appraise the man against making any statements that the officials do not like and explain him all the information that the department gave to the press. The information contains the name of the man and who actually asked him to execute the blasts and of course the entire conspiracy theory.
The man understands that he has no choice but to accept everything as expected by the police. He is no more able to bear the physical torture. Now his immediate aim is to avoid the physical torture and nothing else. He forgets everyone in his life in a split second. Everything comes secondary to him than avoiding the physical torture. He simply obliges the policemen.
The home minister thus meets his promise. He and his Government were able to make the required arrest within 7 days. Many arrests then follow based on the script agreed by the arrested man. The media pressure then gets reduced and the police as well as the Government breathe freely. But the trouble of the arrested man does not end there. He was given access to a lawyer to fight his case when he is presented in the court. He now thinks that the physical torture is a story of the past and speaks genuinely to the lawyer who records his statement.
The newspapers report the next day that the police custody of the man gets extended due to the new turn the case has taken.
The poor man was brutally tortured by the policemen without saying a single word and then allowed to meet the lawyer provided. The man this time makes no mistake. He agrees that he is the criminal and asks for mercy.
That was how he pleads the case in the court through his lawyer. He never tells the real story even to his family members who come to pay a visit to him in the jail. He continues to struggle in the jail before the death sentence is pronounced. He gets relaxed once he hears about the death sentence. He wants to get killed at the earliest. There is any way nothing left in his life. As the news of the death sentence gets telecasted across the country, the families of the blast victims welcome the sentence saying that justice is finally done.
The man refuses to make any last wish that the law allows him to. He says that his last wish is to get to the gallows at the earliest and gets executed.
Note: All the characters and events in this story are fictitious and any resemblance to real time characters or events is purely coincidental.
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GC,
Thanks so much for your lovely comment.
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Dear Raja,
Thanks a lot for your visit and comments.
As you rightly said, many law keepers are in fact law breakers.
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Very touching and very poignant story GT! Loved the way you depicted the harsh treatment meted out to innocents in the name of justice.
Keep writing some more stories!!
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GT! I seem to have missed a few of your posts. This particular one moved me, because I know this happens everyday (not just the terrorist angle) even with ordinary criminal cases, where innocents are subjected to police brutality - just because the poor fellow happened to cross the path of a political bigwig. Depressing to think that law keepers are becoming law breakers ....... Raja.
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Geekunnel,
Thanks a lot for your appreciating comment.
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yet another interesting post from you!!!!well said
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MQ,
Thanks a lot for your appreciating comment.
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GT
Very graphic. So sad that truth becomes a casualty and death becomes more preferable. Reads so true, despite the disclaimer towards the end. Very well narrated.
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Ashualec,
Thanks a lot for your comment and appreciation.
I meant that this story is fiction, but police torturing people surely is a reality as you rightly said.
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I have read enough about police torture to take this as fiction ..
very well written
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