Sunday 17 March 2013

ACP Dhoble Is Just What Mumbai Needs

This is one of the topics in Speaktacular 2013, a debate competition organized by MS-TSEC. Being a part of the Club Team, a team mainly responsible for debates, literary events and quizzes(intellectual events), I was among the moderators. As I had to listen to them and take down notes, I decided to elaborate on some of the topics I personally liked.


He is one party pooper we all hate, don't we? Obviously there is a lot to speak against the topic. Yet it was the proposition who won this one(and they went on to be the winners of Speaktacular 2013).

This time I will start with the opposition. They started with a quote from Spider-Man - "With great power comes great responsibility." And Dhoble is a man with power but misuses it. He acts as an extra constitutional authority. He is a dementor who sucks the life out of a party. He is against night life and closed minded. In 1989, he was suspended from duty for accepting bribes, while he was posted in Pune. Also in 1994, he was sentenced 7 years in prison to have tortured one of the inmates, Abdul Gaffer Khan, to death. He was fined Rs 1 lack for the same. He was also responsible for replacing 12 dossiers related to Dawood  Ibharim. He is a man who himself has records against him.

Also he was blamed for the death of a hawker while raiding the streets of Santacruz(E). The hawker succumbed to cardiac arrest. He couldn't bear the hockey stick of Dhoble. His livelihood was in question. If not a street vendor, how will he feed his family? How will he put a roof under them? Agreed that it is illegal, but what other options do they have? 

Dhoble was compared to the likes of Saddam Hussain, Adolf Hitler and Muammar Gaddafi. He is inclined to tyranny and takes up responsibilities he shouldn't be. 

The media has shown light on his negatives, leaving his positives in a shadow. We judge him only on what the newschannels and papers tell us.

Let us not forget the raid in a so called spa in Powai. He rescued 7 girls who were forced into flesh trade. Isn't it one of his good doings? He saved innocent girls from a fate so horrendous. He also shut down illegal hubs and parties causing nuisance to the neighborhood. We all know that many of these public services have skeletons in their closet. Corruption has seeped into the blood of us Mumbaikars. For our own convenience, we turn a blind eye to wrongs. 

Recently, a fire erupted in a nightclub 'Kiss' in Santa Maria, Brazil. The nightclub served a regular hangout spot to the many students Santa Maria homed. The band performing in the club used some fireworks, which were to be used outdoor. They didn't have many exits. Many dies due to suffocation, some due to stampede. 300+ deaths were recorded. This could cause questioning to safety as Brazil is set to host the FIFA World Cup next year. The officials were blamed for this. The club's license had expired in August, the previous year. There were no proper exits for the victims to escape. Many harmless illegal activities put together fueled the fire.

Here we have someone who is actually trying to avoid the same in Mumbai. Someone who doesn't concede to corruption. And how do we react? By hating him. He is like a strict parent who just cares for our good. He has learnt a lesson from being suspended of accepting bribes. Once, my friend and I were walking down the road where we met a policeman. He told us how helpless they were against corruption. It's not bribes that tempt, it's the threat against their loved ones that compel them to turn their flashlights off to the happenings in the dark. And when someone stands up against fraud, we shun him instead of respecting him.

On the charges of the street hawker, he died of brain haemorrhage. He was externally untouched. It was an unfortunate incident, but not something you could blame Dhoble for. Congress MP Priya Dutt blamed him for the death, and we blindly believe her. She is not someone who has done great deeds to even be considered a say in the matter.

Good or bad, ACP Vasant Dhoble shall always create a stir with his loudness. But one must read the entire story before judging someone. 

No comments:

Post a Comment