A chill ran through my spine and the first thing that came to my mind was 'RIOTS'.
It had been a long day at work and all I wanted to do was to reach home. It was well past 10 at night and with every stroke of the minute hand of my watch, my desire to reach home kept increasing. Putting on my winter gear, I set off for home.
Travelling a distance of 12 km to reach home, from SG highway to Khanpur, after an awfully busy day at work, I had no energy left by the time I arrived at Nehru Bridge. Lost in my own world, weaving a plan to relax in the warmth of blankets in front of the TV, I realised there was an AMTS bus parked right in the middle of the road on the bridge.
I was irritated by the 'chalta hai' attitude of Amdavadis towards traffic regulations at night and prayed that the bus moved ahead. However, a lot of unusual commotion, pieces of glass scattered on the road and a group of men in khaki talking in hushed voices with writing pads in their hands is what greeted me next.
A chill ran through my spine and the first thing that came to my mind was 'RIOTS'. I was sure the dreaded Hindu-Muslim clashes had cropped up out of some vague comments made by a politician, long forgotten for his worthlessness, and aired on some local TV channel.
My initial response was to take a u-turn but soon the journalist in me prevailed. Parking my scooty right there, I approached the policemen. A show of my 'Press' card and a little explaining later, I was told that the AMTS bus had mowed down a youth at the spot about an hour before. At first, I was baffled as the accident itself could not have damaged the bus to that extent. It dawned on me soon that an irate mob may have decided to ensure instant justice and broke the windowpanes of the 'guilty' bus.
I called up the crime correspondent at office to inform him of the incident only to be told that he knew it. With nothing more to do, I headed home with a glimmering white carpet of broken glass spread out evenly right up to Khanpur Darwaja welcoming me.
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