Why Vasant Dhoble is not entirely wrong!

Yesterday, a leading newspaper in Mumbai carried an article whose headline read as:

‘Beta so jao varna Dhoble aa jayega’.

For the uninitiated, Dhoble uncle is the ACP of Mumbai Police (Social Service department). And he is in news because of his unconventional rather aggressive ways of raiding pubs, discotheques and even cafes.

He was trending on Twitter yesterday because he had raided Cafe Zoe and shot a video of the place to prove that it was over crowded.

Now I must say his method is completely wrong. If you think that a certain place is carrying out illegal activities, go raid silently and treat the patrons with dignity.

Tell the media to shoo off so that the patrons are not left embarrassed. I mean no innocent girl would like to be tagged as a prostitute just because she was present in the club where the raid occurred.

The method used is completely wrong and I hope Arup Patnaik (Commissioner of Mumbai Police) tells him exactly how he should conduct the raids.

But having said that, it is completely wrong to target just one man and blame him for talibanizing Mumbai’s night life.

In a bid to accuse Dhoble for ruining the night life of Mumbai, we are forgetting one thing.

He has a very strong defence for his actions.

According to him, he follows the laws laid down by the judiciary system.

So what if they are old and do not apply to the current times.

They still exist right?

Police will do exactly what the law says.

If they had the power to over - rule the laws of the land, Kasab would have been dead by now!

Who would not like to kill him and avenge the death of Tukaram Omble who died for the nation while catching Kasab alive?

So, my concern is that instead of cribbing and protesting about Dhoble’s actions... protest against the archaic laws that rule our society.

Protest against the pubs, discotheques, raaste pe laga huva thelas for not carrying correct licenses.

If everything is ‘right’... no mai kaa lal can accuse you of doing anything ‘wrong’.

Honestly, I have no night life. Because half of my time goes in travelling from one end of the city to another.

And Sundays are too precious for me as that’s the only day I get to be at home.

But here’s what I think the pubs, cafes and all other places where the raids occur should do:

·         Put all your licenses on public display i.e. on your walls. So even if some authority comes and tells you that your license is not valid, show it to them. Ensure that you have all the required documents in place. Don’t allow the police to tell you that you have flouted the rules.

·         Check all the patrons thoroughly, irrespective of whether you find them suspicious or not.

And for patrons, here’s what you should do:

·         Carry your age proof with you, just to ensure that nobody throws you out of the pub for looking like a kid.

·         Cooperate with the police if they come. The more you resist, the more aggressive they will become. Be calm if they check you. You know you have not done anything wrong, then why fear.

·         Most importantly, if you notice anything wrong, please have the guts to be a witness and call the cops. It is easy to say that cops should do their duty. Solve cases that are pending. Trust me no other police force in India do their duty as sincerely as our Mumbai police. They have the strongest network of khabris. So until and unless you do not go ahead and render support to them... they will not be able to solve any case. Cooperate with them.

I agree, Dhoble should not teach us how to behave and what to do. But if something goes wrong, the first one to be targeted after the guilty is our bechara cops.

Call it insecurity, sadistic pleasure or taking advance precaution, Dhoble is only doing his duty. No one can stop him from doing that!

And that’s the harsh truth!

So go ahead, start a petition to change the laws, which is the root cause to all these problems! And not Dhoble...

Signing off,

Lecture dene wali dadimaa!