SHAME ON YOU – KOLKATA POLICE

7 people from my office, including my Didi passed away in the tragedy on 23rd when our office buiding caught fire at 18A Park Street. Her body was lying on the ground for a long time and no cop came to pick her up and take her to the car. After I reached I picked her in my arms and put her in the car and then rushed to the hospital where 2 injured employees were sent.
They had been declared dead by the time I reached. But again no cop was there to ensure that they could have been admitted.
For last 2 days, I have been begging to the cops for one thing or the other - from requesting them to send someone into the building to locate the missing people to getting the release letters of their identified corpse.
Today again I requested them to allow us to enter the office and bring out any records that might have survived the fire. When there was no response, I raised noise and got the media. Some very senior officer (ACP level) said : “Don’t talk so much – be in your limits”. I am yet to understand the limit that a citizen has in this Democratic Republic called India. Are we only expected to bow down and kiss the feet of the police so that they stop harassing us?
I got some people to stage a dharna with me outside the gate of MY OFFICE BUILDING. The policemen pulled me and took me inside the building promising to take me to my office.
Once inside, they surrounded me and one guy warned : “Tumi jaano na amader koto arrangement (You don’t know how influential we are), tumi onek baje kaaj korle media ke ene (You did a very bad thing by getting the media here) aar ekhun ami tomake cheene geychi, tomaye dekhe nebo (and now we have identified you and will make your life hell)”. He called other cops, and pointed towards me - told them to remember me so that they may “take care” of me later.
Then another cop said I need to give them an undertaking that I would be responsible for my own death. I agreed but he refused to give me any paper and pen. He said it is my fault I did not get my own.
Then the first one told me he would not let me take any files out of the office since he had no way to know that I was the owner. My business card would not suffice. The fact that there were 50 other people outside who were saying that I was the owner made no difference either. He said I should go out and talk to my lawyer about it.
Then he said he would take me only to the third floor. My office being on the 5th.
Finally I gave in and they dropped me back outside, all this while also telling me that I had started a dangerous game and they would cause trouble for me.
Can anyone explain why we pay taxes to put these people on payroll? If the police can dare to threaten an educated citizen like me who knows his rights and has all the right connections in the city – that too after a tragedy of such magnitude with entire media lurking only a few meters away, I shudder at what they are doing to people in rural India.
SHAME ON YOU – KOLKATA POLICE. SHAME ON YOU.