Published: Tuesday, Mar 19, 2013, 5:25 IST
By MK Ashoka | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA

When 26-year-old Parvez Azhar from Assam, who lives and works in Bangalore, went to Hulimavu police station Monday to file a complaint about losing his marks cards, little did he expect to be abused roundly by the station house officer. Parvez’s fault? Not being able to speak Kannada.

It was third visit of Parvz, an employee in a pharmaceutical company, to the police station to file the complaint about the loss of his final semester marks card of his BSc biotechnology from St John’s College. He lost the marks card while riding his bike to Arakere 10 days ago, and he realised about the loss much later. Since then he was made to go to the police station repeatedly, only to be told that he had get an affidavit detailing how he lost the marks sheets, in order to file the complaint. Parvez was at the station, armed with the affidavit.

“I was trying to tell station head Nagarajaiah that I have got the affidavit done. He did not even bother to look at the affidavit, asking me to bring a letter from the college. As I tried to explain that the college authorities have asked me to come with the FIR, Nagarajaiah asked me whether I knew Kannada,” Parvez told DNA.

Parvez told the cop that he could speak in Kannada a bit and and was learning the language. The policemen asked him for how long was living in Bangalore. The young man told seven years, and this got the policeman’s goat, who began loudly abusing him.

“After abusing me, Nagarajaiah asked me why I could not speak Kannada after staying here for so long, and why i had not tried. He went on to complain that people like me come here to ride their bike wherever wanted and do not even bother to learn Kannada,” Parvez said.

Refusing to entertain Parvez’s affidavit which they had suggested he get done, Nagarajaiah said he would regiser a complaint only if he brought a letter from college.

“Otherwise I could go back to his native in Assam and get and lodge a complaint there, Nagarajaiah told me,” recounts Parvez.

@ashimysore