[Reader-list] living in the city

[zamrooda]

Three months back I had shifted to my first house from the protective shell
 of a hostel room. The room is small not very fancy but a space I could call
 mine.

After a relaxing Independence day weekend with my parents in Jaipur I
 returned and left for work as on any other day, unmindful of what the
 evening had in store for me.

As I climbed the stairs leading to my room, I could not foresee what was in
store for me.
There was something wrong with the door.....maybe it is my imagination....no
the lock was tampered......definately it was tampered.
As I walked in things looked fine, no wait my cupboard was open. Did I leave
it open in the morning. NO I was sure. I had latched it. The drawers were
half shut,.....
It was then that I was sure that something was wrong. I looked through the
drawers and yes my jewelery was missing!

With this realisation began my nightmare in the city of Delhi.

I approached my "LANDLORD" for help. On the face of it he appeared to be very
helpful.
He claimed to know the SHO of the concerned police station and reassured me
that he would call the police the first thing in the morning. He also assured
me that he will take care of everything. There was no need for me to miss
work the following day. I should continue with office as always. He will take
care things.

Back in my room looking for some comfort I called up a friend living a few
blocks away. BY the time she could come over it was  nine in the evening.
She was furious that I had not informed the police. We dialed 100 and within
the next ten minutes we could hear the patrol car outside the house.

The police instead of coming to my house directly contacted the land lord.
After a brief discussion with him they came to my room accompanied with the
landlord. The first question I was asked was not from the police officials
but the Landlord, "who called the police?" "how did you call them?" It was
almost as though I had committed a crime calling the police.

After this I was asked various questions by the police regarding the theft.
All along the land lord was present in the room not allowing me to speak to 
the police. It was only when the police went downstairs to question the 
servants working in the building that I had an opportunity to speak to
the officer on my own.

In the meanwhile the local police station officers had also arrived (who were
the friends of the land lord.) I had to repeat each and every detail that I
had given to the patrol police. With each queation I was forced to live the 
theft again and again. The police  insisted that I  put pressure on my brain 
to figure out if I suspected any of my known people. My repeated insistence 
that none of known could be involved and that I suspected people from the 
building fell on deaf ears.

My friend who had come to help,had to face all kind of questions regarding
her identity and her relation to me.

The police officials then suggested that we sit in the landlords house and
conduct further formalities from there. As we were sitting in the landlords
house, the duty officer arrived who turned out to be a good friend of the
land lord. He was more worried that the land lord and his wife have been
disturbed with their dinner than with the theft.

I was once again made to narrate the entire story in spite of the fact that
 the earlier officer had taken in a written statement. The formality was
 barely completed as the duty officer was more bothered about the VIPs who
 were visiting his area at that point of time.

The investigation over, a written complaint given to the officer, we were
reassured that a copy of the FIR will be given to us the next day.

The police left and as we were moving out  the landlord got agitated with us
for having lied to the police that he had not given the keys of the cupboard
or that he had not repaired the lock of the door for which I was complaining
ever since I had moved into the room. Things got out of hand and the police
which was about to leave had to come back and intervene in the matter.

On our way out we overheard the police saying that the landlord had not
verified the tenant that is me...as I kept dilly dallying with the land lord
about my continuation of residence in the house. This was news to me as I had
no plans of moving out.

BY know you must be wondering what am I trying to get to.......lets take a
look at the situation point by point:

1. Why did the landlord not inform the police immediately?
 Is it because he was going to be exposed to the fact that he had not
 verified his tenant? Isn't the verification to his benefit? Yes if he is
 planning to pay tax for the rent....but if he is not as is the case here he
 is better of without the verification.

2.  Is it not the moral responsibility of the land lord to help the tenant?

3. The police entered the premises of a single woman's house after dark
without a female official:

There are laws (Cr PC. Art.47,51 and 53) prohibiting the police from
 searching, examining and arresting a woman without the presence of a woman
 official. Should these same articles not apply when the police is going over
 for the investigation of a complain.

4. The police called me to the police station to collect my copy of the FIR.
The most striking part of the station was the fact that at half past eight in
the night there was no sign of a woman constable..........

5. The police even after knowing that I had not been verified have taken no
steps to do the same.

The theft meant a lot to me. Yet what shocked me or made me uncomfortable in
this two day ordeal was the level of "participation" of my land lord. Today
it was a small theft what if something more serious happens tomorrow.
What kind of rights do tenants have in this kind of scenario?

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