A TALE OF TEMPTATION & TURMOIL
Rajkumari Sharma Tankha
Amit Lodha, the celebrated cop who earlier wrote Bihar Dairies and Life in the Uniform, two non-fiction books that talked about his policing experiences, has now come out with a fiction. Titled Police Affairs: Beyond the Call of Duty (Penguin), the book is inspired by real-world dilemmas police officers face.
A sucker for true crime stories, I not only read his earlier two books, but even binge-watched Bihar Diaries (based on his book) on Netflix. Needless to say, I was mighty impressed. So, I picked up Police Affairs thinking it to be another real-life story. A few pages into the book, I was wondering how the cop is writing about extramarital affairs of a cop when out of curiosity I looked the back cover to check if it was really fact-based. And saw it wasn’t. In felt a sigh of relief. Though all humans are susceptible to have an extra-marital affair, those in uniform indulging in it somehow leaves a bad taste. That’s the amount of high esteem I give to those in Khaki and Forces – always upright, always righteous, and always morally tight!
Relieved, I began reading Police Affiars, as a story, and it totally engulfed me – that speaks volumes about Lodha’s writing skills.
The main protagonist IPS officer Arjun Kumar, is a decorated and rule‑abiding police officer whose life gets complicated when he gets into an ‘extramarital affair’ with a singer (Madhushree) after falling in love with her melodious voice.
The affair leads to a tragic death, which entangles Arjun in a complex conspiracy that threatens his life, both – personal and professional. To protect his family life and his professional reputation, he indulges in many not-so-ethical ways.
Police Affairs is all about how Arjun goes on a downward spiral – morally – torn between duty, desire, and self‑preservation. And in writing his story, Lodha has showcased the police institution as a complex web of personal politics and moral compromises. Well, no one can deny that it is – after all, be it cops or civilians, basically all are human beings, prone to all human ills.
Through Arjun, Lodha shows how even the most righteous and disciplined officer can falter when faced with emotional vulnerability and how those in power misuse it to save themselves. The fact that the book is inspired by the ‘real-world experiences of IPS officer Amit Kumar Lodha’, brings to fore the fact that the high and mighty do indulge in many shenanigans.
Lodha has handled Arjun’s transformation from an ideal police officer respected by his peers, and a loving husband to a morally-compromised man in a delicate manner – bringing forth his confusions, his fears and insecurities. He hasn’t justified his wrong acts but hasn’t painted him all black either. This is the skill that comes with experiences of life, and hold on language that the author has.
Written in clear English, the book is an easy read, with no literary complex sentences or convoluted plots or jargon. I completed it in three days, maybe you will do so in one!
