A story or a passage or a situation that was loved by my father called ‘EYE-WITNESS’ (from a policeman’s report). My father himself was a supercop and obviously it is natural for him to love this passage. For him this is one of the best report any policeman could write. This report shows the reliability of the “Eye-Witness” and also the importance of investigation. It also teaches not to trust anything, any statement even of the affected, unless verified. For my father, this report is the culmination of policeness (I hope such a word exists!) He taught me this passage, 45 years ago and it is as fresh in my mind as if it has happened yesterday. Even during his last days, he had volumes to speak on this passage.
“….. At 4:35 Pm, on the afternoon of July 16 th 1977, I was on duty in the City Market. A small boy came running up to me, and said that there had been an accident in Temple Street nearby. I went there at once, and found a crowd collected around the body of an elderly gentleman. He was lying on the pavement outside a fruit shop, He was conscious, but could not answer my questions. He kept calling in a weak voice for his wife.
“I examined him, and found that he had no serious injuries except for a blow on the back of his head. He was losing a little blood. I asked the crowd to move back a little, to let him breathe more easily. I sent the same small boy to the post office on the opposite side of the street, to ask the postmaster to telephone for an ambulance. Then I asked the people standing around what had happened. Mrs. Narayan, of No. 232, Temple Street, said that the victim had just left her shop after buying two kilos of mangos. She had not seen the accident itself. Mr. K. Gulati, of No. 192, Seventh Cross, said that he had seen the victim steeping off the pavement, wiping his face with a handkerchief, because of the heat. He thought that he had been knocked down by a young boy, cyclist in school uniform. Another witness, Mr. K.L.S. Rajgopal, of Charminar School, disagreed with this. He said that the accident has been caused by an autorickshaw. All agreed that the cyclist or autorickshaw had not stopped. At this point the victim spoke. He disagreed with the witness, and said that he had been knocked down by an elephant. I advised him to rest quietly until the ambulance came. He was by this time able to give his name and address. At this point, the ambulance arrived, and the injured man was taken to the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital.
“Before leaving the scene, I noticed some squashed mangos lying in the street near the pavement. There was a mark of a tyre across the fruit. I went to the address that the victim had given and informed his wife. On leaving the house to return to my post, I saw a motorcycle parked outside a coffee shop. It had mango juice all over the rear wheel and mudguard…”
A very short and well written passage and it has volumes to speak. Do not trust even the victims, for even their point of view will also be biased. For my father and I, this passage gave the importance causing an enquiry even into the obvious things of life. Keep the eyes and ears open. Never trust anything as true and the truth reveals itself. This is what the policeman’s beautiful report vindicates. Further, this report also gives a lesson in keeping emotions away while compiling a report. My father who was an acclaimed policeman, who was trained by the ‘Scotland Yard’ of London and also by ‘Royal Canadian Mount Police’ of Canada asked me to keep this report as a guiding force for my life. Thank you, sir. Point well noted.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com