Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Bad Apples in the Kullu Valley

No place on earth would be complete without its own set of idiots and good-for-nothings. Naggar is no exception to this rule. The village, which is one of the safest in India, was witness to a mugging! That's right, a western-style mugging.

A Russian artist was walking to her guesthouse around 10 pm, when three people attempted to snatch her bag with a laptop. She tried to resist but they pulled it away and made a dash. The fear of getting beaten up, stopped her from chasing them. Since it was already late, there were no people on the streets to help her.

The artist went to the police station to file a complaint and the "efficient" cops managed to find one of the trio. She told them that all she wanted was her laptop back, since it had several of her designs. The cops then said, they wouldn't file an FIR but could arrest the guy.. Funny logic, isn't it?

She gave the criminal 2 days to return the laptop, but the man denied being part of the mugging. So smug is this criminal that he went and told others in the village that he is just a petty thief. He only steals shoes and jackets and small things. Not laptops and expensive products! The man in his early-20s is known to befriend foreigners to get a drink or smoke. This was the first ever incident of its kind in this Himalayan Hamlet.

When I spoke to the owner of the guesthouse, where the artist stayed, he told me that the police would act in a way that they filed a FIR and follow up the case. When I said that such "comedy" was unacceptable, he insisted that the cops would find the laptop as soon as it was put on sale!! When I told him that the criminals may have sent it down to Chandigarh, the man told me to go ahead with the FIR.

The artist, who didn't want the criminal to be tortured in lock-up, then proceeded to file the FIR since this young man was being extremely smug. I think the villagers of Naggar should teach their "petty thieves" a lesson. Socially boycott the family (who rushed to defend the criminal) and stigmatise the thieves in other ways. Naggar will lose its only source of livelihood if tourists stop visiting.

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