Sedition in the neighbourhood..!
There was the sound of a police jeep and heavily armed policemen entering my neighbour’s compound as I stepped onto my balcony, “What’s happening?” I shouted to my neighbour. “Sedition!” he shouted back as he opened the door and let the police in. “I called the police to arrest my wife and children!” “Whoa! Whoa!” I shouted as I heard screams from his house, “Why ever would you do that?” “They revolted!” said my neighbour angrily, “Said they wanted to change what we ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was patient with them initially, but they insisted on having potatoes and cauliflower twice a week, and then I was firm with them!” “But doesn’t your wife fix the menu?” I asked. “No, I’m in charge,” said my neighbour smugly, “Am I not the head of the house? Do you know what my eldest son did?” “Shouted at you?” I asked.
“No! He actually dialled a restaurant and asked them to bring a potato, cauliflower dish! That was when I decided enough is enough and decided to book them! And I have the evidence!” said my neighbour craftily, producing a soiled looking parcel, which I recognized was from the local restaurant, “The potato and cauliflower dish arrived after my son ordered it, and the police say they will book the hotel owner as an accomplice to this dreadful act!”
I watched as the police dragged his wife and children out of the house, and stared dumbfounded as my neighbour handed over the soiled packet to the police who carefully labelled it as a part of their evidence. I ran down my steps and to the wife who was a close friend of my wife’s, “You can contact this lawyer!” I said giving her a number, “He will help you!”
“Put out your hands!” shouted the policeman as he produced a set of handcuffs, “We will have to arrest you also.
“I’m just giving her a lawyer’s number!” I said, “I am innocent!”
“Under sedition law nobody is innocent!” said the police constable as he roughly put the handcuffs on, “You have tried to aid this woman, and that is enough for us and the court!”
We watched fearfully from the police van as my neighbour walked proudly back to his house and stood on his porch, then watched even more in shock as the police chief walked over and put a garland around his head and came back to the van, “We will not tolerate sedition in this country,” he said to me, “And have been told to felicitate anyone who helps us book such offenders!”
I looked bleakly at the handcuffs on my hand and stared at the soiled packet of evidence that had already started smelling!
Sedition was surely raising quite a stink..!