Mumbai underground: Congratulating a criminal

“Check the CCTV and all the entries of who entered and exited the compound that day. If someone didn’t see the face clearly at least they would remember the colour of what he or she was wearing. Get on it,” were the instructions from a senior IPS officer to a subordinate, on the phone. The cause for the urgent orders? The senior officer’s shoes had been stolen from outside his home in South Mumbai. The officer, evidently upset, left no stone unturned in attempting to find his “expensive shoes.” The final order: “Inform the local police and take their help to try and get a lead. Also rope in the ATS if necessary. My shoes went missing from my house, that’s impossible.”

An expensive joke

An activist of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena was recently in a sticky situation when he accompanied a friend to court. His friend was a witness in a magistrate’s court and the public prosecutor had summoned him. Seated in the front row, the politician suddenly let out a laugh, noticed immediately by the magistrate. Calling the wary leader to approach him, the magistrate enquired about the reason for the mirth in a courtroom and the apologetic  man explained that it was a joke on his WhatsApp. But the magistrate was not buying the explanation, and said the man should spend a day in jail for contempt of court. Eventually, a fine was paid and the man went home, somewhat deflated and not laughing any more.

No e-smoking zone

While the government is working on stringent measures related to tobacco control with the state health department working hard to curb cigarette smoking, government-run Air India recently came under fire for providing passengers the option of e-cigarettes, on board some of their flights. Dr PC Gupta, an active campaigner against cigarette use, decided to write a letter to the aviation ministry which immediately rolled back the facility offered by AI. “We were shocked to see airlines giving its passengers e-cigarettes. It glamourises smoking,” Dr Gupta said. However, the doctor was happy to see speedy steps by the government to correct their mistake.

Mistaken identity

When the state CID held a press conference recently in Mumbai to announce an annual Maharashtra police event, everyone expected it to be short and uninteresting. But entertainment came in a rather unexpected form when as soon as the officers invited questions, a man raised the issue of the recent uploading of objectionable content on Facebook and demanded ‘justice’. When confronted, the man said that he had been trying to meet “Dhananjay Kulkarni sir” (DCP Detection and also the police PRO) in vain. Reporters led him to Kulkarni’s office and five minutes later, the man sheepishly came out and was heard saying that he had been mistakenly chasing Kulkarni instead of Dhananjay Kamalakar ( Joint Commissioner for Law and Order).

Awaiting orders

With the reigns at the state level having changed, there has been ample speculation on whether bureaucrats would be transferred from their current positions. Within a span of two weeks, two senior officials from the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) were transferred – NK Sudhanshu and DK Jagdale, chief officer and joint chief officer of the authority’s Mumbai board, respectively. Some say that the officials had requested for transfers. Even so, MHADA employees are preparing to hear news of another transfer soon, that of the MHADA chief Satish Gavai himself. Gavai has completed almost four years as the chief executive at the housing authority and is now the second-longest serving officer in the post. An official said, “The chief is also mentally prepared for a transfer soon.”

No X’Mas cheer here

With an advocate seeking time from the court to hear an ‘urgent matter’, a senior judge commented that in the last week before the court holidays start, the Bombay High Court is overburdened by lawyers who want their matters to be heard immediately based on the ‘urgency’ of the matter. One tired judge observed, “The last week of the court before vacation is the worst week. We are under the kind of pressure you can’t even imagine. The court is harassed by lawyers to hear matters.”