Encounters with would be killers

It never occurs to you after you meet someone that the person you are talking will murder someone soon.

Am keen to see “Deshonnati’. See how it published the news. Murder involving its editor?

The news was on page one of Times of India’s Delhi edition- a good 1000 kms away from Nagpur. ‘Editor kills employee.’  

Brash and ambitious with the killer instinct to take the competitor enemy head on, a miser, stingy to the core. Did not pay a dime to a friend whom he employed as the newspaper’s Delhi correspondent (I would support the agitating employees, understand their plight..) PP had all the qualities one needs for a short cut to be on the top.

I am not surprised reading the news.  ‘Desnonnati’ sales would have shot up (if the employees are not on strike) - readers wanting to know more about the editor who shot an agitating employee. Rival newspapers would try to play it up even more- look for scoops- it’s a matter of sales after all. The matter will take years in courts and quite possible that PP the editor will be acquitted. He sure is much more powerful than the poor employee who was shot dead.

PP would be the second editor involved in a murder in Nagpur's media history. It was other way round years ago when editor of a dying Marathi newspaper was shot dead by a police sub-inspector. Yes, it was the editor who got killed. There were stories of the editor black-mailing the cop who, having lost patience whipped up his service revolver and killed the editor on seeing him at his door step in the morning.

Although he hated competition and would equally hate his newspaper not coming out one would never think he would actually gun (or order his guard to..) down an employee seeking wages.

Not paid well but used to a lavish life style thanks to their profession, Dube, editor of the now defunct Nagpur Patrika was under tremendous pressure of his employer to make the newspaper sell more. People fear police. Police fear the press. There are ways the police extract money from all and sundry. Crime reporters and some editors know how to extract money or favours from the police. Dube was one such editor. Harassing, a cop? he paid with his life. A bachelor thankfully, there was nobody to cry when shot dead at point blank range by someone supposed to protect the law.

Employers, ‘maliks’ have their ways of ‘killing’ those they employ. Very few are shot point blank like PP did. Others employ more devious ways of causing a slow death, killing your mental peace, your family life, your happiness. No text book formula to survive and overcome this. A documentary wonderfully showed how a petty shop worker- watched out of curiosity from his window by a student in the next building because of the way he yells at his wife and daughter every evening out of frustration caused by endless yelling by his shop keeper owner ‘malik.’ One evening the worker is unusually kind to his family. The young student follows worker to find out first, the cause of his yelling and then how he is suddenly a changed person. The worker has found a deserted spot where he has hung a photo of his cruel ‘malik’, yells at the ‘malik’s photo’ full throated, abusing the filthiest to his heart’ content- before leaving for home.

Not everyone can find solution not to bring office frustrations home. It is better though to leave office, workplace tensions back in the office. Not to take them home. Difficult though to maintain one's cool if one is not paid salaries or is underpaid.

Not exactly a feather in Nagpur's cap.