Umar beet jaati hai ek ghar bananey mein; log aah
nahin kartey bastiyan ujaadne mein,” recites a voice on the microphone
before altering the mood with a quip. “There was once this wedding horse
that would move forward only if the rider danced before him. Today, I’m
that horse and you’re the rider. Ask me why? Because I need claps and
cheers to keep talking,” he smiled while the audience chuckled.
The people gathered in the room weren’t at an open
mic or a stand-up but a Mumbai police workshop called Jagrut Mumbaikar
where the speakers were officers from the police security department,
trying to sensitise, train and mobilise a roomful of bankers on a busy
Wednesday afternoon into playing bigger roles in preventing crimes. “So,
this happened at a busy railway station on a weekday. An elderly man
noticed a tiffin carrier lying abandoned on the platform. So he picked
it up, walked straight into the nearest police station and placed it on
the OC’s desk! Fortunately, it had food. Ese the police station could
have been blown away,” recounted Santosh Kalapahar, a constable and
instructor for the day.
Humour can be a powerful ally and storytelling
therapeutic, and these two informal forces are helping bridge Mumbai
Police force’s evangelical zeal for the city’s safety and Mumbaikars’
call to action.
The outreach programme, Jagrut Mumbaikar, was
launched a decade ago following the 26/11 terrorists’ attack in Mumbai.
What was limited to around 100 engagements in a year was stepped up to
500 workshops in the last one year alone under present police
commissioner of Mumbai Datta Padsalgikar who has worked for the
Intelligence Bureau for 19 years. “Our commissioner takes special
interest in these programmes and under his leadership have completed 500
such sessions in the last one year alone,” says Pradip Sawant, deputy
commissioner (security) who is supervising the workshops.
The emphasis now, he says, is on creating a
well-informed community of Mumbaikars who can serve as watchdogs.
“Rumour is the biggest bomb and there is a danger in overreacting.
Assist a cop only if he asks you. When scores of people crowd around a
spot, that is mass casualty target right there,” he explained citing the
recent Elphinstone bridge stampede. “Someone screamed ‘phool gir raha
hai’ and others heard ‘pool gir raha hai’.”
A key part of the workshop accentuated situational
awareness and enabling people to spot signs of dubious activities,
recognise suspicious articles and vehicles and how to inform the police.
“Don’t touch or remove the object, or submerge it in water. Remember,
the red wire cut to diffuse a bomb in a Bollywood film isn’t actually
red in real life!” added Kalapahar.
While the police traditionally regarded with awe
and fear had traded their khaki exterior with a friendlier safari suit
in trying to shed their isolation and secretive manners, they have also
taken to showcasing their range of weapons and vehicles to offer
accountability and reassure citizens of the security measures in place.
The Times of India, June 3, 2018
