George FilesThe truth, one post at a time

Funny, I thought this was a safe neighbourhood

November 18, 2007 by roshan.george in Madras, Society

Well, apparently it wasn't. Some chain-snatchers style guys grabbed her phone from her hand as she was walking on the road. They were on a motorbike and managed to get away. Typically, we don't have the serial code for that phone so tracking it is impossible. I don't know though, I thought Gandhinagar was a reasonably safe place, the occasional murder notwithstanding, so this is a bit disturbing.

However, this just reminded me of how a couple of days ago I was walking down the street and it was dark (there are few streetlights here) and there was this schoolkid walking behind me. Except I, being the paranoid[1] nutcase that I am, I did all the classic tricks to confront the fellow. Of course he turned out to be just a schoolkid, but better safe than sorry, eh?

What I don't understand is why the mobile phone companies don't simply triangulate the signal and locate the phone (It's still on, one of my aunts was trying to reach my mom). Surely it'll be remarkably trivial, I can see a whole industry around triangulation though, location-sensitive advertisements, faux-GPS,... Ah, if only I had a couple of millions.

[1] No really, paranoid like mad. I treat everyone as guilty until proved innocent, always place my phone in my front pocket, under my handkerchief and the papers I carry, do checks on my wallet, watch my luggage out of the corner of my eyes on long trains, see a robber in every man who doesn't look well off.

12 comments

MarcNovember 18, 2007

Anita Sharon was my classmate in SMA. Idiots got her name wrong in that article.

So by your vague post and references to your aunt, I assume the person who lost the phone was your mom?

roshan.georgeNovember 18, 2007

Brilliant, sir! You have deciphered the code!

Anita Sharon, so it was her? I think I met her a couple of times when she was in school. Or maybe it was someone else, I'll go look for our yearbook and see if I recognise her. I knew it was a Michaelite, it was all over the news at the time. Didn't know it was her though.

ArunNovember 19, 2007

That was one sad news. It really got people stirred up against the police.

Perhaps those snatchers belong to that slum dwelling nearby.

Arun MNovember 19, 2007

Yeah ! That was one terrible incident !

IshaNovember 20, 2007

Oh gosh... That's horrible...
I'm kinda glad now that I'm in Martin...

roshan.georgeNovember 23, 2007

Yeah, pretty sad. They couldn't trace the phone because my mom didn't have the serial number. Ah well...

Being in Martin Hall will not save you. Palimar spells doom. And so does Ida.

IshaNovember 23, 2007

Nut. I was talking about the murder.
You know I'm not allowed to use the phone here after 10 pm, big chance that anybody would steal it then. Except Ida. Maybe.

But then again... She probably doesn't know how to use a mobile.

roshan.georgeNovember 23, 2007

Yeah, safe. In a building controlled by that woman. Safe.

IshaNovember 23, 2007

Of course. It's like living in a nunnery. A nunnery with a constitution.

roshan.georgeNovember 23, 2007

A constitution? What kind of constitution? I can imagine:
Section 5(a): All residents must run in morning so Martin Hall become great sporting nation.

IshaNovember 24, 2007

Not exactly... But close.
And half the people don't even go for jogging in the mornings because they have a cold. Makes a lot of sense because of the wonderful weather and the lovely atmosphere.

Irony intended.

roshan.georgeNovember 24, 2007

It's actually a pretty nice place, Martin Hall. Bars, discotheques, a sidewalk café. Hard to find a better place to stay.

The running's the only problem.