Ab tu 57th?

One of my favorite movies of last year was Ab Tak Chhappan (56 and counting). I don't know when it was released but I saw it last year and I really liked it. It is based on Inspector Daya Nayak of the Mumbai Police. Over the years, the Mumbai police has got a reputation for being trigger happy especially with the underworld. While they have come under a lot of flak from the usual Human Rights folks, the 20 million non-underworld related Mumbaikars seemed to be quite happy with this approach. Daya Nayak was the poster child for this policy of "encounters". (Only in India can you come up with such a euphemistic word. Encounter. Yeah, right. Sounds like a date) The number 56 in the title of the movie was supposedly the number of encounters the protagonist Sadhu had committed.

Daya Nayak is back in the news . This time though, he is on the wrong side of the law. He stands accused of "wealth disproportionate to his known income" (another wonderful desi phrase). Someone who has a known salary of close to Rs. 12,000 a month, his known assets are said to be close to about Rs. 100 crore (1 billion per the world system). Funnily, in the movie based on his life as well, the main dude has to face the system and goes absconding.

Is it life imitating art, art imitating life or just history repeating itself?

By desi standards, this probably will be swept under the carpet in about a month or so. But the question stands. How did he make so much money? Since he is innocent until proven guilty, let's assume the face value explanation that all his business concerns netted him all the profit. If that is the case, why is he still in the police force. Imagine you earn a buck through your day job and a thousand in your "part time" job. Also in your day job you stand the risk of life threatening injury or even death. Would you still do your day job? I wouldn't and I guess most people wouldn't either. Which to me seems like he is in the police force because that is what is driving his other income. That's his bargaining chip. If he is not in force, he cannot cause any trouble to anyone who is upto some naughty business. Doesn't that make sense? People pay him money because and only because he could cause them trouble.

Now, if that is true, that also leads to an important question in my mind. We should also know who paid him this money. Because while his corruption is bad enough, it could be that he played favorites in the encounter business. Or did he just bump off those who did not like his terms and conditions? If he was so much on the side of the law, why didn't he just "thhok" the guys who offered him the bribes? Or even just threaten them? Somehow, to my suspicious mind, this doesn't sound like he is being framed. Had it been a murder or someone killed, I could have given him the benefit of the doubt. But in this case, there is a house somewhere in his name. There is a luxury bus liner. There is acres of land. How do you explain such physical evidence?

If I ever meet him, I shall ask him only one question. Why? Why did you do it? What made you think you wouldn't get caught? How can you face your kid(s), look them in the eye and tell them to be good, morally upright human beings? How can you face the family of those you tapkaoed and tell them their near ones were bad people, and how will they believe you that the only reason they are not alive today is that they were evil, and not that they couldn't pay you enough protection money? (writer's license. I know this is more than one question)

And I think I know what his answer will be: "Because I thought I could get away with it". It worked for Bill Clinton, and I bet it will work for Mr. Nayak.