The Pickpocketer

I got into the crowded bus along with my daughter and son and a relative of ours. We were going to attend a function in another relative’s house. Some youngster who was sitting got up and offered her seat for me. I sat down, holding my handbag on my lap. Just then I observed a thin, poor woman in tattered clothes carrying an infant standing just beside me. I got up and offered her the seat. She sat down with the infant on her lap and a 3-4-year-old boy standing near her. There were two other women like her, carrying toddlers, in the crowd. One of them stood near the door and despite the conductor scolding her to get inside, she would hardly move, stating that she had to get off at the next stop. These three women were shouting at each other in some unknown language. They pretended to not understand Kannada.  

I was surprised that the women never got off at any of the stops for very long. As soon as I stood up, the conductor came and I bought the tickets. I gave him a 1000/- rupee note and he asked me to collect the change later, as he had no change. Two stops before the stop that we had to get off, I asked him for the balance and when I wanted to put that into my handbag, I realized the zip was open and the rest of the money I had (about 1500/- rupees) was missing. I immediately told my daughter about this and just then the bus stopped at a signal on the highway. The three women quickly got off the bus at the signal. I sensed something was wrong and asked my children and my relative too, to get off with me and started following the three women, who were running across the highway. My son gave a chase and followed them. They quickly got into a clothe-store on the opposite side.  

As soon as we entered the shop, they were trying to flee. I got hold of one woman and spoke in Telugu to her, as their language sounded like Telugu. I said, “please return my money. Or else, I may have to go to the police.” By then, the shopkeeper came out and said, “these women do not seem like customers. They entered the shop to escape from you.”

The woman innocently replied, “What money? What are you talking about?”

I got irritated by her pretentions and shouted at her, “My money which you have stolen. I had two five-hundred rupee notes and five hundred rupee notes. I remember very well. I was standing beside you only. There is no other way I could lose that money, as my handbag was hanging by your side.”

She haughtily replied, “Check if you want. I have done no such thing.” I took her bag and searched but found nothing but a couple of torn clothes and a few coins. As I was doing this, I observed the little boy holding on to something in his trouser pocket and looking at his mother with fear. I immediately pulled his hand out and found my money tucked in his pocket. The woman started slapping the little boy, abusing him, “Why did you steal you, idiot?” I knew for sure that she had stolen and thrust the money into his pocket. So I gave her a tight slap and scolded her, “Why do you beat an innocent child after using him?” I am going to hand you over to the police”. The moment I said that the other two women beckoned an auto and all the three of them got into the auto and fled away.  

I got back my money but it was such a cinematic experience. Though I did threaten her about the police, I had no intention to go to the police, because I have heard quite a few cases where the police have shown their high handedness. One such case, which I read about long ago in the newspaper keeps haunting me.  

In those days, many houses had a backyard and people used to dry their clothes there. Sometimes, thieves used to steal good clothing during afternoons, when the womenfolk would take naps. One afternoon, one poor lady in her twenties entered the backyard of a house and pulled a petticoat from the clothesline and just then the landlady came out. The lady tried to flee but was caught by the landlady. She handed her over to the area police. On the next day, the newspaper report said that a young lady died in custody when she was arrested for stealing a petticoat. Dying for stealing a petticoat? How cruel could poverty be? Every crime has a sad story behind it. We should try to analyze that. Hunger and poverty are the main causes of crime. My heart bleeds when I see poor urchins being beaten for stealing food. Well-fed people cannot even know how painful hunger is! The society has to try and attack the causes rather than the results!