Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad, Nov 6: Tarun Acharya, a youngman with interest in stocks, startups and standup shows narrated a horrible experience he faced in his own state Gujarat after he travelled back from Kolkata in the early hours of November 5. The attitude of the police has devastated him, and in a series of tweets he has brought the incident to the notice of the netizens. He has urged the media to highlight the incident and keep the spirit of Gujarat by taking action against the police officials who, he says, are spoiling the name of Gujarat by troubling the tourists from various parts of the world and country.
This article has been carried in the interest of the public and for all those travellers to Gujarat who might face similar problems after landing at late night or early hours. This is also to inform the late night travellers to Gujarat what kind of content they should carry in their mobile phones, particularly apps, for their one's own safety.
Here are the complete details of the tweet by Tarun Acharya:
"It’s 4.00 am right now and I just came back to Ahmedabad from Kolkata after having a wonderful and memorable trip with my friends. However the joy was short lived as I was stopped by a PCR van near Shyamal Cross Roads.
They first asked me if my bags were checked by the police at the previous stoppages, to which I said no because I wasn’t! Most of us know what they search for when you get out at night. It has to be liquor, always.
It’s their duty and I don’t mind being checked or cooperating when it comes to following rules. However, in this case, I told them that I am not carrying anything because I am coming from a domestic trip and I know the rules.
And if you have been through this process, you also know the way they check your luggage. I was showing them one of the bags and was going to show them the other ones but, probably they were so much in a hurry to find a bakra that they didn’t even let me close the first bag and started checking other bags on their own. They didn’t even ask me to open the bags for them. They just started searching every nook and corner of the bags as if I was a criminal. I was still ok with this till now but the whole thing took a U-turn when the senior officer
entered the scene. He found two books in my bags and photocopies of some articles from the web on technical analysis that I have been trying to earn for some time now. They asked me so many questions regarding the books as if carrying them was a crime.
At one point he even asked me if I was selling pirated books or what! Well, these books were bought from a very popular bookstore in Kolkata so they were not illegal at all. I was already tired after a hectic journey and was feeling very sleepy but
I had a bigger duty to perform and that was to answer some random questions asked by a nasty officer who was trying to create a crime scene out of nothing. After all the mental harassment, it was time to check my phone. Yes, he took away my phone. Checked each and every app including my WhatsApp and read a few personal messages. When he got to know that I am also actively trading in stocks and found out that I have an app which allows me to do paper trading to test my strategies, he tried to create a scene out of that.
He told me that it’s illegal to have these apps and there can be a case against me for having them in my phone. He also tried to open my Zerodha app but thankfully it was locked. He also tried to connect the dots between how a young businessman with interest
in literature can also actively manage to learn technical analysis and do trading? In the meanwhile, he saw Paypal and said it’s illegal in India. Again we had a brief discussion about why I need the app and how it is RBI approved.
He finally shared some wisdom about why the charts don’t work in trading and how the crude rose on one day and fell on the other day. After all the arguments with, of course, cuss words in each and every statement during the entire conversation,
he finally obliged by saying, “I am letting you go, but be careful next time!” I didn’t want to argue because I was super sleepy and tired so I left the scene by thanking him. But after this, I was disturbed and during the remaining journey
I kept on thinking, “What should I be careful about next time?” 1. For carrying books? 2. For trading in the stock market? 3. For carrying my study material during my travels? 4. For having multiple interests while doing business? Or
5. For becoming a gentleman and not carrying liquor while travelling to Ahmedabad and not giving such officers a chance to make money? How would you justify this incident if you were at my place?
I am a local resident and I know the rules but what impression would this leave on a visitor’s/tourist’s mind if his bags and phones were checked like a criminal in the middle of the night by the roadside? "
Citing that this is a case of mental harassment and violation of citizen’s rights, Tarun Acharya has decided to request the authorities to teach the policemen some manners and professionalism so that no one else has to go through such a traumatic experience.
He has exposed the incident for the common people to know how police sometimes act like mafiosos and harass innocent citizens, hoping that no one has to go through what he experienced.
DCP Traffic assures of action against erring cops
Meanwhile, Ahmedabad DCP Traffic Safin Hasan has responded to Tarun Acharya's post. Expressing concern over the alleged harassment, he has gathered all the details of the incident. Safin Hasan has also assured Tarun of appropriate action against the erring police personnel.