Murder exposes drama in real life

“Some 32 control rooms, spread over 10 zones in the city, run up a monthly volume (of business worth) Rs 35 lakhs”, says Yogesh Dave, City Mamlatdar in charge of Entertainment. But he does not rule out the existence of unauthorised operators, indicating the stakes could be much higher. And, as Dave says, with residential societies mushrooming, they can only rise.

No one in the know is dismissing Monday’s incident as isolated, or Gorwa as the only scene of a pitched cable battle. Though no exact figures are available, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) P K Valera says “a number of cases on operators clashing for more connections have been registered under Section 324 of the IPC”.

But officials say that is no deterrent, since the non-serious nature of the offence ensures bail. Asked if any measures were being taken in view of the potential seriousness of the situation, officials, including Valera, plead that there isn’t any law for cable related cases.

However, a senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, says if there are a number of Section 324 cases against an operator, the police can press for his externment. “This can be a strong deterrent,” he adds. “Provided there is the will to do it!” Cable operators, on their part, claim that though criminals have joined the trade, operations were by and large clean. “There are some areas where criminals are taking an interest in the trade, but generally the operators’ records are unblemished”, says Alpesh Shah, founder-member of the Cable Operators’ Association and owner of Videolane Cable communications, describing the controversy as a “media ploy to tarnish our image.”

Police officials say the problem crops up when cable operators hire criminals to obtain cable connections. “During distribution, these criminal elements push their weight around and try to snatch cable connections from each other”, says an officer on condition of anonymity. The scene is further confused by the nebulous regulatory powers governing the trade. Dave, in fact, puts the onus of the criminalisation of the business solely on the police. “No operator can interfere in another area without our permission, but if he resorts to criminal influences to do it, the police have to prevent it”, he says.

Police officials pass the buck to the Collectorate, saying, “They have to ensure the sanctity of the business, maybe through proper screening of the applicants,” says a senior police officer. To this, Dave retorts by saying applicants are registered only after proper verification and “if the operator does some mischief subsequently, there is not much we can do about it.”