This special Provost issue reminded me of my father-in-law, Col PK Sayal’s stint as CO CMP just before he retired and I promptly called him up to share a few anecdotes of his tenure. It was the fag end of his highly successful and interesting career and after a challenging spell at Ambala as the Adm Comdt, he was posted as the Commanding Officer of a Provost unit. As a Gunner he had seen the ‘white belts’ from a distance but now he was going to be a part of their team. Many questions and queries emerged in his mind as he proceeded for his new assignment. But with adequate experience of man and material management skills learnt throughout his career, he was ready to face this new challenge. He slowly gelled into his new task with the dexterity of a seasoned soldier. He remembers some interesting cases of that tenure, which established the unit’s credence as an organisation par excellence.
One was the sudden disappearance of three young girls in the age group of 12 to 14 years. The CMP was called in amidst an atmosphere of tension and wild speculation. Thoughts flew at scary tangents since young girls were involved. As the CO he asked his men to find out detailed facts regarding the girls’ movement that day and gather information about their friend circle. When nothing concrete came to light then they tried another angle; he asked his team to find out about trains leaving Pathankot station just after school hours, heading towards Delhi or Amritsar. When they discovered that there were indeed one or two trains leaving the city at that time, the CMP men went to the station and inquired if any one at the ticket counter could give them further information. Luckily one of the clerks at the ticket counter remembered that four tickets had been bought the same day, at the time when the school got over, for an Amritsar bound train. Having a brainwave Papa promptly called up his counterpart at Amritsar and asked him to look for the girls at the langar in the Golden Temple. Rightly so the girls were found there and sent home the same evening under supervision.
There had been an underlying fear that some sleazy, unsocial elements might be responsible for their behaviour but nothing so dramatic had occurred. The girls had simply wandered off on their own to proclaim their independence and taste a bit of adventure! The safe return of the girls and the prompt and successful solving of this case won great applaud for the entire unit. Parents and school staff were extremely thankful and appreciated the team’s quick thinking and timely action.The next incident tested the sleuthing abilities of the CMP. It was brought to the notice of the unit that unauthorised sale of stores was taking place in the station. Papa asked his staff to mingle around inconspicuously and gather data regarding the involved parties, means of sale and their place of rendezvous. After analysing the data they figured out a possible system of operation. A team of men hid on trees near the rendezvous point and started keeping vigil. Their efforts were rewarded when the culprits were caught red handed.
On another occasion the team dressed in civil clothes, posed as civilians and caught a group of faujis selling CSD items in a village. These episodes sent a strong signal to all persons dealing in illegal transactions and all such trade came to an end in the area. People were made aware that the ‘white belts’ meant business. Whether it was a case dealing with the civil authorities, a case of indiscipline, traffic management or security in general, the unit made its presence felt everywhere, earning positive responses from one and all. Good liaising with the civil police helped them many a times. Once due to the assistance of the civil authorities they managed the mass movement of men and equipment during a massive exercise, conducting the entire move in a disciplined and organised manner so that not a single untoward incident occurred.
All these memories had Papa also remembering the friends he made during this tenure, who he is still in touch with. A lovely last posting and a very fulfilling tenure is how he sums it up!
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