Law enforcers and the law
I was walking today (10/1/08) close to Aarong and Manik Mia Avenue where I saw a shinny looking blue Nissan Patrol stationed next to the road where it read in bright colours 'no parking.' I was mildly amused and was thinking who is this 'rich guy having no civic sense.' To top it off, there was parking space available next to the car. I took interest and peeked in to see that it was none other than a Rab's car where a young adult and a little girl were seated. Without paying much attention, I moved to a close-by house and ran my errands and returned after around 25 minutes and saw that the Nissan Patrol was still resolutely standing in the same position, whereas there were three parkings open where the driver could have easily pulled into. The young adult and child were not there and I could easily put two and two together and realized that the 'official car' was being used for shopping at Aarong or a mall close it. This practice is common in Bangladesh and most people abuse the system and no pointing fingers at this wrong deed are ever labelled at anyone. This sorry state of affairs needs to change, however.
Coming back to the 'Nissan Patrol, I saw the driver standing approximately 15 yards away next to a 'cigarette stand' talking with a traffic policeman. I could see that traffic congestion was being created due to this car, which in the first place, had been parked in the 'no parking zone' (actually right under the sign of no parking) that can be spotted at least from fifty yards away. I very politely requested the traffic policeman that this car needs to be parked in the right spot so as to avoid traffic jam. He mumbled something that I could not decipher. I then went to the driver and only suggested that perhaps slightly moving the car and parking it in the very next spot would be helpful for the traffic. To my utter surprise, the driver responded with harsh comments and wanted to prove to me that what I had said was not at all true and that I have used the wrong word 'blocking the road.' He acted like a sovereign king and spoke with venom; he proved to me that he believed in being the law and, therefore, he was above the law. After being jolted with verbal harassment, I stepped a few steps away from this driver and waited another two or three minutes to see if good senses prevailed on him or not. It was no surprise to me to see that he continued to portray the face of defiance as if he had achieved a miraculous success.
Indeed, he was successful for me to bring this out into the public. Some of you may think why I should be wasting my time in writing about such a petty matter. I would strongly ascribe to the matter not being petty but a matter of misuse of power that needs to stop point blank. He was a law enforcer and I was the small guy on the street and it seemed to me that during his barrage of words 'survival of the fittest' was being played again that I do not subscribe to. Should it not be more like survival of honest behaviour and law abiding actions? This small incident gives me the belief that Rab perhaps needs to re-train their drivers or hire polite individuals, otherwise random backlashes like my comments may be floated by others, thereby undermining the good deeds of Rab. It would be helpful for someone with connection to the right sources to discuss these matters and take corrective action.
I am a law abiding citizen wanting timely efforts at building a 'positive social face' to our law enforcing authorities. Is it not high time?
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