Scary Connections

(This is a true incident that happened to me a few weeks ago. Shook me up big time. )

This happened a couple of Thursdays ago. I left office early since I had to drop my parents to the railway station. My bro too decided to come early. We dropped off our parents to the railway station and went home to watch the India - West Indies match of the Champions Trophy. Both of us, were not keeping well due to the bad weather prevailing in Bangalore that week. Both of us were dozing off in front off the television watching yet another off-color performance by the Indians.

Around 8:30 pm a couple of friends dropped in to discuss some issues about a house construction with my brother. About ten minutes later, I heard yet another knock at the gate. We stay on the first floor of our two floor house. There is an external staircase which leads to the main entrance gate. Our gate makes this odd sound when you try to open it that we can hear its distinct sound on the first floor. I came out and saw two people trying to open the gate to enter the compound. We usually do not allow strangers to enter the compound. I asked them who they were and got no response. I was getting irritated. They looked up at me and continued to enter the gate. Both men, were around 35 or 40 years old, average build and sport a short military cut hairstyle. The man in front was in a light red shirt, while the other slightly taller man was in a cream colored shirt. I assumed this is one more real estate agent asking if the ground floor house was vacant.

I was getting irritated. I once again asked them, this time a bit roughly.... "yaaru ???". By now they were half way up the staircase. The man in the light red striped shirt, asked "Sudeep iddaara ???" (Is Sudeep there?). I tried to remember if I had given my name to any of those pesky real estate agents. Could not remember any. I said "howdu, naane. Neev yaaru ?" (Yes, I am sudeep. Who are you?). One of the men answered "naavu policeavru. Naav maalur inda barthaidivi". (We are policemen, we are coming from Malur.) I was like... "oh gawd!!... Cops!! What did I do ? Had I spoken to some girl recently ? Did I trouble any girl recently ? Maalur ??? Whom do I know from Malur? I knew this girl some time ago. But I have not troubled her. Unlikely that she would have set the cops on me. Or would she have... I hope its not ??"

As such thoughts kept rushing into my head, the two men were now standing right below my nose and were standing such that they had cornered me. They had positioned themselves standing acting like they were ready to pounce on me if I moved. The one in the red shirt asked "yen maadthira?" (What do you do?). I said "Software Engineer". "Yelli ?" (where?) I said "XYZ". And then the taller man speaking for the first time said, "Electronics City na ?". "Illa, M G Road hathra". (No, near M G Road). Finally realising that I needed to ask them my own questions I asked, "Vishya yenu ?" (Why do you ask ?). "Banni helthini" he said, trying to point towards the door indicating that he would like to sit down and then talk. I knew I had to ask them their ID card, but that only happens in the English movies. You never know how are Indian cops would behave if we asked them for their IDs. So I decided to go back into the house.

Me being from a very decent family, I am not used to having the cops coming knocking at my door looking for me. To the say the least, I was shitting in my pants. I guess it must have shown on my face. On seeing me and having realised that some people were coming inside the house, my bro asked "Who are these people?". I said, "I beleive they are cops and they are looking for me. They are not saying what the issue is." The cop in the red shirt having heard the conversation says "hedirkolleke yenu illa biddi" (nothing to be scared off). The cops went ahead and seated themselves and made themselves comfortable. Thankfully for me, my brother and our two friends were in the house. Its reassuring to know you have people who know you, sitting along with you in the room, when you are sitting down with cops, who want to "ask you a few questions". I dont know about others, to me the whole scene was an intimidating one.

The cop in the red shirt, the one doing all the talking, fishes out a paper from his pocket. On it, I see scribbled my name and address. He verifies once again with us if the name and address are correct. Also, on the paper is a cell phone number. The cop asks me if that was my cell phone number. I looked carefully at the number. This definitely was not my number. I felt releived. Finally something that does not match up to me. I tried to remember if I could recollect if this number belonged to any of my friends. Could not recollect any number. I could bearly recollect my own number with all the thoughts rushing into my head. The cop asked me if this number ever belonged to me or if I had ever lost any cell phone or any sim card. I said "No". Thankfully I have never lost a cell phone. Touch wood.

The cop in the red shirt then asked for my cell phone number. I gave him my number. He said "Nimm phone inda namma Circle jothe maathadi." (Call up and speak to the Circle Inspector from your phone). I went to retreive my cell phone from my room. In the meanwhile my brother checked the ID of the policemen. He mentioned to the policemen, that he used to work with the Lok Ayukta before and dished out names of a few Inspectors. And once again quizzed the policemen as to what the issue was. Why were they here ? They refused to divulge any details. They said its a sensitive issue and could not discuss it with us. I

After my brother had reeled out names of a few senior police officers, the policemen were sure that I was not the person they were looking for. They too relaxed a bit and finally after a lot of coaxing, the cop in the red shirt said, "See sir, we were investigating a case. During investigation we got this cell phone number. As you can see this is an Airtel Connection. When we furnished this number with Airtel, they gave us your name and address. That is why we have been sent to check out this address. But when we came here and saw your house and the locality you live in, we realised that this is not the person we want. But we came in just to check and make sure. We were pretty sure you were not the guys. If you really were the guys, we would not have talked this way. We would have rounded you up and taken you to the Police Station.". My brother then spoke to the Circle Inspector. He too dished out the same story. He asked us to verify with Airtel about the confusion.

As a parting shot the other cop who had been relatively silent the whole time finally spoke. He said, "Nammige gothitu sir neevalla antha. Nammig gothu nimm thai teacheru. Nimm thande HAL alli kelsa maadthidru" (We know sir you were not the person. We know your mom is a retired teacher. Your dad was working in HAL).. Whoa !!!! I was shell shocked. They had done a lot of homework. "Nimmig heg gothu idella ??" (How did he know all these details) "Naav police saar. namig gothirathe idella...". Great !! Does that mean I am in your record books now ?? Saying this, the cops left leaving me half dazed at the turn of events.

Apparently, before turning up at my gate, these cops had enquired with my neighbours about me. And finally my "good boy" image in my neighbourhood came to good use. But I am not sure what image I now have. The police dont come asking questions about "good boys".

After the cops left, I immediately called up the Airtel customer support. I learnt from customer support, that the number was a pre-paid connection. Also, they confirmed that indeed the number was registered in my name and address. I thought long and hard, tried to recollect if I had ever applied for another Airtel connection. I hadn't. I realised that it had to be a case of identity theft. Someone had used my credentials to obtain a pre-paid Airtel connection. Gosh !!! God alone knows what crime these guys were upto. I was very worried. I tried to find out what ID proof they had provided to get the connection. But Airtel was not forthcoming with information. They asked me to go personally to the Airtel office.

The next morning I went to Airtel's office on Nandidurga Road. Let me tell you that going to their offices is not a pleasant experience. Their offices open only at 10 o'clock. And if you assumed that all private offices unlike Government offices opened at 9 o'clock, be ready to entertain yourself outside their office. They would not even bother to give you a seat if you reach their office before 10. Anyway, finally when the office opened at 10 AM I went in, got myself a token and waited for my turn. When it was my turn, I went over to the representative sitting across the counter. He was beaming at me as if to say, "Ah !! Dont worry at all. I will solve your problem." So I told him my problem. He expressed his "deep regret" since he would not be able to help me. Great! Why pretend to be helpful when you dont have any intention of helping me in the first place. He asked me to go their head office on Bannerghatta Road, which is a good 10 kms from my office. Splendid. Here I was, in the midst of a busy week in office and also battling a bad bout of throat infection. And these guys showed no indication of helping me. I felt so helpless. I tried to recollect... "What had I done ??". I had done absolutely nothing. And people wanted me to run from pillar to post. Thats wonderful. I took the Bannerghatta office number from the "so helpful" representative and headed off to office. I was late to office by 2 and 1/2 hours and had not acheived a thing.

Endless attempts to contact Airtel's Bannerghatta office by phone went in vain. Apparently, Airtel's own head office could not transfer my call from their board to any department that could help me. They told me "Please wait while I transfer your call" and then "bing bing bing", my call was disconnected. I realised what my friends meant when they said "Airtel's customer service sucks !!!". I wished I had not argued on Airtel's behalf then.

I spoke to some of my friends. One of them knew someone who worked in Airtel. After a few hours my friend informed me that the only way something could be done was that I go lodge a police complaint. Only then Airtel would be able to take any action. "What the heck ?? I need to lodge a police complaint ?? Gosh !!! Here's another opportunity for some corrupt policeman to try to fleece money out of me." But then, I realised I had no other go, I better go and make the complaint. What if those cheats (the ones who had got the cell phone connection in my name) were upto no good ??? Poor me would unneccessarily get into unwanted trouble. But then, am I over reacting ? Do you need to really worry ??? May be its just a couple of idiots upto some stupid adolscent tricks. So, I decide to take it easy. Let me not get too worried. But then...... what if ????? I kept debating this for quite a while. I finally decided the right person to fill me in on the story would be the Circle Inspector of Malur, the cop that my bro had spoken to, last night over the phone.

I was a bit upset about the whole issue. But was not too worried. After all I had not done anything. Why the hell should I be worried ? I called up the Circle Inspector, Mr S. After I had introduced myself to him he says, "Let me tell you something very frankly. The case that we are currently investigating is a kidnap case". WHAT ?? Holy shit. I was in deep trouble. He goes on, "We are investigating this kidnap case where the kidnappers have already collected a Rs 30 lakh ransom". Shocked, I repeated "Thirty Lakhs ???". "Yes, thats right, they have already collected Rupees Thirty lakh and are demanding for Ten Lakhs more". Holy crap !! That means the victim has not yet been released. So, its likely this number is still active. Anything could happen. Knowing how our Indian cops work, my head started filling with countless stories of how the police could twist and turn anything to their benefit. If they dont find the actual thief, then they were very much capable of branding the next person they find as the thief. I was lucky, I was sitting on the chair, otherwise my legs would have buckled under the news that I heard. Garnering some courage, I managed to ask, "Sir, what should I do now sir ?". "Banni Maalurigge. maathadanna." (Come over to maalur. We can talk there.) I was not sure why he was calling me over to Malur. Did he want too want to fleece money out of me ? There was no way, I was going over to Maalur. "Banni.. bejaan busugal idde." (Come on over to Maalur. There are plenty of buses to this place)

I was pretty sure, that there was no way I was going to go to Maalur. I told the inspector that I would discuss the issue with my brother and get back to him later and hung up the call. I was shaken by the sudden turn of events, news of the kidnapping, the ransom and the Inspector's attempt to scare me saying "If we go by the proof, you are also one of the accused". Hello ??? (not the right word to say, under the circumstances. )What did I do ??? I stayed at home and did nothing. And here I was being accused of something which I could not even dream of ever being able to do.

May be I should go and register a police complaint. But what do I complain ? Against whom should I complain ? Which police station should I go to ? Isn't this a cyber crime ? Should I be going to the Cyber Crime Police Station ? I was totally confused. So many questions kept popping into my head. I was feeling really worried. The blood had all drained out of my face and I looked pale. My colleagues and friends all suggested I speak to a lawyer and take his advice. All of them told me strictly, "Dont even venture in the direction of Maalur. And if you have to go to the police station, take an advocate along. DONT GO ALONE."

By evening, my throat infection had gone from bad to worse. I hung around for a while, totally confused as to what I should be doing. By the time I reached home, I had high fever. I did not like the idea of going to the police station and registering a complaint. After consulting a lot of people, I finally decided to let it be as it is. I was not going to do anything. After all I had done nothing. So, why should I be the one going to the police station. Why should I go and consult a lawyer? Who was going to bear my legal fees ? After all, I had nothing to do with the case.

I decided that the only thing that I would do was send Airtel a complaint over email. The next day I drafted a letter and sent it to Airtel's customer care. I decided to wait and see how the story would now unfold. Nothing happened for a few days. Though I wanted to know what happened about the case, I knew it would be foolish to call up the Circle Inspector. A few more days passed by with absolutely no news. I spent most of the time on the phone calling up various departments of Airtel trying to see if they could be forced to help me. But nothing happened. They were at their irresponsible callous best. They kept passing the buck, but did nothing.

Finally on Thursday, morning, exactly a week since the whole episode had begun, the newspaper carried a front page news that grabbed my attention. " Kidnap drama ends in shootout." The gist of the story was "The police were investigating a case involving the kidnap of the son-in-law of a stationary wholesale dealer from Bangalore. The victim was released after the payment of a ransom of Rupees Thirty Five Lakh. However the police had managed to arrest one person, by name Tippu. During his interrogation he revealed the name of another accomplice, Ghafoor who was the kingpin in anothe kidnap for ransom case. The police were able to rescue the kidnapped man. They layed a trap to catch the kingpin. But on seeing the police, they opened fire. In the exchange of fire, the police were able to kill the two main accused." The article also mentioned another intresting information. The main accused, Ghafoor had given Tippu a SIM which was registerd in the name of one Ms Nagrathnamma.

Whoa !!! I think I had a close shave. Till date, I am not aware of how my name got linked in this whole case. But the most appalling thing during the whole incident is the callous attitude of the Airtel personnel. They were the ones who issued a SIM card in my name. But they did not bother to help anyway. Airtel sucks big time !!!!