Hemashri recounts how she handled a violent mob – an experience she shared during a training session for officers. Read more in the weekly column, exclusively for Different Truths.

He was an impressive, articulate speaker. The handsome senior was lecturing on handling law-and-order situations. He first gave a PowerPoint presentation and shared his experiences. He was the one who was implicated, and as punishment, he was denied promotions. When all his batchmates rose to a much higher position, he was still stuck in a lower-level post. How could a person stick to a job despite such humiliation? It made me very curious. He must be an extraordinary person to endure it all. He must be too exceptional to be invited as a guest for the training. Among the officers, a speaker like him was rare. Most of the invited speaker bureaucrats were a pot-bellied, pan-chewing, frustrated lot. Many of them left us completely demotivated. I wondered what the purpose of training is. He was a charming man – maybe in his late 40s or early 50s. His lecture was highly illuminating – “Discretion is the better part of valour. In a law-and-order situation, first ensure your safety, then decide your next course of action. There cannot be fixed golden rules for handling law-and-order situations, as every situation is unique. It is basically common sense. And the officer’s presence of mind will guide the situation. guide it. Experience will gradually provide confidence.”

After his presentation, he asked us to narrate real-life law-and-order situations and our learning points. A few of our officers narrated their stories of extraordinary bravery, some of which were obviously exaggerated versions of reality, as we knew them very well. Those stories reminded me of my experience, which was an “anticlimax” because I was scared, unlike those brave soldiers. My situation was compelling. Maybe it was to disrupt things. Here’s my story.

I was posted in the Cachar district of Assam during the 2004 parliamentary elections. One of my assignments was to ensure the control room operated around the clock. I was pregnant at the time, and my husband was away from home, camping in the flood-affected area of Katigorah. Excessive rainfall submerged parts of Silchar town, and residents there demanded relief. At around 8 am, I went to the control room for the usual round, and as I checked entries in the register, I heard a hue and cry near the gate. I saw through the window that a crowd, armed with sticks, was arguing with the two security men. I was the only officer on duty on the large Deputy Commissioner’s Office campus. The crowd looked furious and agitated. I first called the officer in charge of the nearest police station. Our Deputy Commissioner informed them that a group of furious people, armed with sticks, had gathered near the gate and that we needed the police immediately. The lady deputy commissioner told me to face the crowd and to convince them to restore peace. I was perplexed, and as I peeped through the window, I saw a few men trying to jump over the gate. The officer in charge of the police station had arrived along with a senior magistrate, but the situation appeared out of control, as some of them had already crashed on the campus. Without wasting a single minute, I rushed towards the unused toilet near the control room and locked the doors. Minutes later, I heard the footsteps of many people searching for the officer in charge. I heard the loud sound of glass smashing. I could hear my heartbeat racing up. The unexpected visitors were uttering obscene words. Everything happened rapidly within a few minutes. Finally, all sounds stopped, and everything was very eerie. I felt apprehensive even about opening the door. I came out and saw that the room where I had been sitting had been ransacked. Papers were strewn all over, and the glass panels on the table and the doors were broken. I rushed to my quarters as I felt very unwell, possibly due to the stress and anxiety.

I confessed to my colleagues that until that day, I had been unsure whether I had done the right thing by overruling my senior. At that moment, common sense guided me. I do not know if, in my final months of pregnancy, I should have dared to rush to confront a violent mob. At that moment, maybe I was more concerned about my unborn baby.

After hearing my story, the smart officer said, “You did the right thing.”

To date, that was the most critical law-and-order situation I had encountered. Before joining that office, it was learnt that even a deputy commissioner had done the same thing – fleeing and jumping out of the window to save himself from an angry mob. The mob had destroyed some documents in his chamber. This incident was very conveniently utilised for many years. Every time a crucial file was dislocated, it was stated, “During the incident, this file was reportedly destroyed by the mob.” God only knew how many were actually destroyed by the mob or hidden by some interested parties.

A few years back, I saw a video clip where one of our officers, showing extraordinary courage, rushed to overpower an armed policeman, who opened indiscriminate fire, injuring many. The officer managed to disarm the mentally disarrayed policeman and saved many lives that day. The Honourable President of India awarded this officer a gallantry award. Our officer that day clearly violated the basic principle taught to us by our experienced and knowledgeable senior. Perhaps bravery and martyrdom are closely linked.

Our guest speaker, the man who never got a promotion, won everyone’s hearts that day. He instantly taught people like me a lesson on endurance.

I do not know when I may next encounter a law-and-order situation as a magistrate. For me, discretion shall always be the better part of valour. I have the sanction of an expert to abide by this golden rule.

There may not be a gallantry award, but I shall be around to tell another story.

©Hemashri Hazarika

Photos from the Internet

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Hemashri Hazarika

Hemashri Hazarika is an Officer of the Assam Civil Service since 1997. Her research on Assam Civil Service brought reforms in 2015. A first-class Postgraduate in Economics from Gauhati University, she was awarded JRF/NET by UGC in 1997. Her experience as a bureaucrat has sensitised her to human sufferings. A solutionist by passion, she takes an active interest in issues related to Governance, Development, Women, Children, etc. Reading, Writing, Speaking and Painting are her hobbies.