Your First Meeting With The Police:
In most cases, the police will arrive at your door in the early hours of the morning while all of you are half asleep, and will attempt to take you, and members of your family to the police station. Friday mornings or the day before public/court holidays are another favorite time the police choose to get you. They do this, as they can prevent you from being presented before a magistrate, depriving you of a chance to apply for bail on the same day. This will allow them to hold you in custody over the weekend and really tighten the screws. Be assured, the police have been bribed to their gills and this is the norm, rather than the exception. The police personnel who show up at the door will give you their word and tell you that they will lay down their life to protect you and that you must accompany them. Believe them at your peril. They will say they need to arrest you if you don’t accompany them. They will do what ever it takes to get you to the police station. Depending upon your social standing, the police may also resort to coercive tactics, which means you may very well be beaten up. Be calm when dealing with the police. Do not show any fear or confusion. They are the Indian Police and not the Gestapo or the KGB. They have no right to hurt you or assault you in anyway. You are protected by the constitution. At that time and place, this may sound unrealistic. Trust me, you are protected and the police know it. All the same, they will intimidate and threaten you. If they assault you, make sure that you record the proof of it on a cell phone camera, at the least. The police can be nailed for abusing their power. Do your best to maintain the upper hand. Don’t think in terms of human rights. They mean nothing. You need to think and speak in terms of Fundamental Rights. Your Fundamental Rights are guaranteed. It takes confidence, courage, and quick wittedness to confound the police. You can do it. The policemen who show up at your door will be underlings. Wait till you meet the Police Inspector (SHO). The main drama will take place in the Station House. I am checking up on the code of criminal procedures that need to be followed for cognizable offenses like 498A. I will post them when I have more information. Initially, the police will say that they want to take you in for counseling to the police station. If you get to the police station, you will possibly find your spouse and her relatives there. Invariably, the demands will be along the lines of reconciliation or they will ask you to pay up a sum of money to settle the issue. The police will attempt to mediate a settlement. If this fails, you will be taken into custody along with most or all the members of your family who have been accused. If all your efforts to stand off an arrest fail, then you will need to go to the police station. It may be in the city or in the districts. Regardless, the arrestee has rights that the police must respect. The Supreme Court has issued a set of directives (Shri Dilip K. Basu Etc.Ashok K. Johari Vs. State Of West Bengal & Ors Date Of Judgment: 01/08/1997) that need to be followed and obeyed by the arresting officer, failing which the arresting officer can be held accountable through departmental action and contempt of court. ________________________________________ Preparing For Arrest Or Detention: • Take some snacks and water with you. • Take your cell phone and its charger. Make sure you have the number of your lawyer stored. If it is a prepaid phone, ensure that it is charged to the max extent. Pay off the cops to do these minor things. • Mosquito repellent. The police station will be infested with them ☺. • Keep some cash with you, but don’t take any valuables like jewellery. Don’t have anything flasshy on you. • If any member of your family is on medication, ensure that you take these along. • Pack a set of clothes handy to be delivered fast if needed. Pack for 5 days if approached on a Friday. • Take a book. The Bhagavad-Gita, Bible or the Koran, or anything else of interest to keep you engaged. You will grow close to your god in these trying times. • Take a notepad and pen to list your feelings with timelines. It will come in useful if you need to recollect the facts in a courtroom or several years down the line when you get to nail her under Section 182 of IPC. • Inform a trusted friend. • Get the name of the police inspector and his contact info such as cell, phone # in the station. • Get the police station address and phone numbers that you are being taken to. It is your right to know. • Get the names of the SP, ASP and any other superior officer and their contact info. • Try to get a copy of the FIR. You have the right to know what you are being charged with. • Keep a copy of this document with you. It will be a useful reference, especially with regard to your rights. It is in your interest to ensure that you do not accompany the police to the station, at least, not without being escorted by your lawyer. ________________________________________ Dealing With The Shock: The first thing you need to deal with is the shock you will experience when the police show up at your door. Sheer terror and disbelief is what you will feel. This is accompanied by a sense of betrayal. The woman, with whom you’ve shared your most intimate moments, the mother of your children (if kids are involved), has filed false criminal charges against you and members of your family. The shock is followed by panic and a sense of helplessness. You will feel rage when your parents/siblings are arrested. There will be a scramble to call relations and friends and find a lawyer to arrange for bail. There will be an absolute sense of bewilderment. There may also be temptation to run out of the back door. That’s fine. Hold on. Don’t give in to panic. Think. When the police arrive at your doorstep, there will be a tendency to look to them for help, information or reassurance. Don’t look to the police for this. They are not there to comfort or reassure you. Try to remain calm. Delay. Sit in the potty to compose yourself. Call your neighbors as witnesses. Don’t worry about your prestige; you will gain greater respect if you are able to avoid getting caught up in this extortion racket. There has been an instance when the neighbors convinced the police leave without an arrest. Video record the situation to the extent possible. Use a cell phone or a digital camera. Try to record as much as the conversation with the police as possible. Keep your wits about you. Be fearless. Stick to your ground and resist accompanying the police to the station on a Friday. Use the judgments of the Supreme Court. Do your best to ensure that you go to the station on a Monday and accompanied by your lawyers. Do not go there alone. Try to fight on your turf, which is your home and neighborhood. Don’t surrender this advantage easily. How they deal with you will depend upon your social and economic status. Procedures and policies get thrown to the wind in the frenzy to get you to the station. If their intimidation gets out of hand, gently tell them that you are a citizen and that you have rights and any excesses on their side will be reported to the Home Secretary of the state or the DGP. The Home Secretary is an IAS officer and their ultimate boss, above the DGP. Once they understand that you will stand and fight, they may treat you with respect and with a little luck, you may avoid arrest. If for any reason, you are unable to dissuade the police from forcing you to accompany them, then accompany them with the copies of the Supreme Court judgments. You may be able to nail them on charges of contempt of court later. Tell them that it is no idle threat. The police are under intense pressure to get you and as many members of your family to the station as they can get their hands on. They’ve been paid to do so and there is more money to be made from arresting all of you. Try your best to keep members of your family out of it. They will use your family as a pawn in this game. Do your best to protect the women and children. They have arrested over 300 children in 498A cases. Breast-feeding mothers, children, grandparents have been arrested. The statistics from the Home Ministry speak for themselves. If are you compelled to accompany them, do so, but, first, activate plan B. Get your lawyer to prepare to file a bail applications in the lower courts and the High Courts. ________________________________________
