Ahmedabad: Cops receive ‘evasive answers’ galore over breaking of night curfew!

AHMEDABAD: People going out during curfew at night and getting booked has become common nowadays. But there is a marked difference between FIRs filed in police stations on two sides of the river. While cops in the western side of the city mention the reason given by the ‘accused’ for stepping out of home and maintain that the reason was unpalatable, police stations in eastern Ahmedabad witness cyclostyled FIRs.
The cops hardly bother mentioning the reasons given by people who are booked under Section 188 of IPC. These FIRs merely mention that the person either gave an “evasive answer” to the question or gave false excuses. The cyclostyled FIRs differ only in the names of the complainants and accused and the time and place, and the content is the word “galla-talla” for excuses that people give for their night-time excursions.
The ‘all government doctors’ committees
The Covid panel of experts had representatives from various private hospitals from Ahmedabad including renowned names like Dr Tejas Patel, Dr Atul Patel, Dr Tushar Patel, Dr V N Shah and Dr Maharshi Desai. Even the vaccination committee had several private practitioners. But two newly-formed committees — one on mucormycosis and another on Covid among children are entirely formed of the doctors from government hospitals. The grapevine in the health department indicated frequent run-ins and press appearances of some members as the possible reason.
“The government doctors are bound by a code, and the government is not in a mood to go for firefighting after the second wave — some of the committee members had openly opposed the government moves earlier. Thus, appointing government doctors is considered to be a safe bet,” said an official close to the development.
Dhanvantari hospital spoils teachers’ vacation
The Dhanvantari hospital, which was established with help of DRDO and run with help of medical staff flown in by the Navy, is now viewed as a vacation spoiler among teachers of government colleges. The staff of all government colleges engineering, science, arts and commerce – have been assigned duty at the hospital. They say that though the Covid-19 wave is subsiding now, there is no respite for them. The hospital has become a second address for the education commissioner and a few vice-chancellors, leaving the teachers wondering whether the hospital is being run by DRDO or the education department. They say that this is only because the charge of this hospital has been given to the secretary of their department.
AMC panel formations delayed by power tussles
It was BJP’s internal conflicts between senior leaders and the young ones in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) that led to the two-month delay in formation of committees and finalizing their heads. Normally, all the committees and their heads are declared on the day the standing committee chairman’s name is finalized after election victories. It is said that the party's new system of placing an age limit on contesting elections played a big part in the delay in finalizing the committees.
Lawyers find way to leverage mask rule
Flaunting identity has been a penchant for many professional groups. Medical professionals and lawyers are easily identified by their dress code. This expression of identity was limited till date to pasting their professional symbols to vehicles. With the Covid-19 pandemic, masking has come as just another opportunity for a few lawyers of the city to convey to others who they are. Masks with ‘advocate’ written on them, and the symbols, are being distributed by a group of lawyers. They feel it is necessary, particularly when the courtrooms remain closed for most part of the year, and they hardly get to dress up in black and white.