Untold Story

Arun Patil narrates his tale of woe

Now his story can be told. The Mahindra Scorpio Arun Patil had given the Club free use of, is no longer available to us. After nearly a decade of ferrying members to and from the Garden every morning and running countless errands in emergency situations, the red SUV has been disposed of. In its place, Arun has purchased a scooter for himself.
The car was sold in extraordinary circumstances. As regular readers of this blog know, Arun is an amputee, having lost his right leg to diabetic ulcer. Yet, he continued driving the car and would park it at night on a busy road, a little away from his residential complex.

Veena Walia: a guest member
from Panchkula visiting Mumbai

The building does not have a parking lot of its own.
Vehicles of other residents used to be also parked on the same stretch, along with assorted tempos and trucks. Yet, the cops took a special ‘liking’ towards Arun’s vehicle. Arun’s biggest blunder was to have greased their palms, hoping they would look the other way.

Yusuf Rassiwala reads out Karun Sharma's birthday
invite for tomorrow

But their demands only increased over time and even after being generously bribed, the cops challaned him a couple of times.
Arun could have chosen another spot to park his car, but that would entail walking some distance which could be risky (especially in the dark), given his physical condition. The cops knew that. Unamenable to reason, their harassment increased till one day, Arun lost his head. He was served with an e-challan of Rs6000 and told to pay up under threat of his car getting impounded.
“That very day I decided to get rid of the car,” he narrated this morning. “I sold it to the first available buyer and put an end to my misery. It was a distress sale and what I got was peanuts. But it was enough for me to pick up a brand new scooter.”
Arun is getting it fitted with two extra wheels in the rear – the kind we see the disabled moving around with. What stands out though is that here is a man who had to sell his car in order to buy peace from a bunch of corrupt cops.

Bihari Milwani:
Now that the car is sold, Arun should utilise his contacts in the film industry and make a short video on his harassment and upload it on social media.

Karun Sharma:
* It must be very distressful for Arun to sell his car in such conditions. I wish the scooter helps him maintain his mobility. But he should first consult a doctor before riding the scooter. Maintaining balance may exert undue pressure on his legs.
* Thanks Kiran-ji and Yusuf-bhai for communicating my invite. I am looking forward to meet all friends. I was born on 22nd night at Delhi and today, I am here in Delhi again. The help of our daily blog is huge and we all realize it. Thanks, Blog Monster!

Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
The distress sale of his SUV by Arun Patil shows the extent of meanness to which we have degraded ourselves in this materialistic world. We have lost the values of life. May God help us. Arun Patil ought to consult a doctor before driving a scooter because of his disability and age-related constraints.