Once a promising cricketer, things are not going great for Harmeet Singh now.
February 20 is a day Harmeet Singh (25) will not forget very soon. On a day, when his comrades were being auctioned off to the highest buyer and looked to earn eye-watering packages in the IPL, Harmeet Singh was being paraded like a common criminal. A man who once played for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2013, Harmeet became a viral sensation for the wrong reasons.
One of the country's most promising players , praised by players and pundits alike, Harmeet found himself on the wrong side of the law at Mumbai's bustling Andheri station on Monday. At around 7:10 am, Harmeet drove his Hyundai Verna onto the western edge of the station onto platform number 1, within sniffing distance of the Harbour line local trains that start on their southward journey from track number 1.
It's another matter that Western Railway authorities have turned a blind eye to the request of its own security apparatus - the Railway Protection Force- to barricade the entrance in such a way that cars cannot come onto the platform even by accident.
Meanwhile, within hours of the incident, social media was flooded with pictures of him holding the crime-data slate (mug shot) against his chest. This overzealousness from the security personnel in sharing the photos came despite officials at the station believing that Singh was not drunk, at least not enough to be recorded in his mandatory blood-alcohol medical test carried out soon after his arrest.
On a day, when his comrades were being auctioned of Harmeet Singh represented India in the ICC Under-19 world cup in 2012. He made his debut in first class cricket for Mumbai in Ranji trophy. Presently, he represent Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy.
But in a single swoop, Singh was labelled a criminal, the kind that the Railway Protection Force apprehend by the dozen every day across the length and breadth of Mumbai's 100-odd suburban railway stations, for crimes varying from train stunts to crossing tracks.
The charge against him, under Section 154 of the Railway Act, that of endangering safety of railway passengers, is a serious one. It carries a maximum jail sentence of three years. That, however, might be a long shot if it is proved that Singh's incident was a result of disorientation and completely unintentional.
What will rile for years to come however, would be the 'slate on chest' photograph. It might be something that Harmeet won't be able to get off his chest for a long time to come. Long after the case gets buried and forgotten in the files of the RPF, he would still be wondering if he deserved this public shaming. And that is the danger of going viral on social media and the Railway authorities need to find out who leaked the pictures that made social media play judge, jury and executioner. We hope this ordeal doesn't ruin his budding career.
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