It was a tough decade for Police Naik Gurupadya Madhalbhawi; and his woes are continuing, courtesy, a clerical goof-up by the department. After being away from duty since 2003 owing to a mental illness, for which he underwent treatment at JJ Hospital in 2016, the 45-year-old has been trying to get his post back since 2017, but Thane police's admin staff have issued his buckle number to another naik. Rules state that a buckle number can be transferred only if the naik in question dies or is dismissed. As he runs from pillar to post, while his wife does odd jobs to help the family survive, Madhalbhawi is wondering if he will ever be able to don the khaki again.

The dark side
Madhalbhawi joined the Maharashtra Police in 1990. During his tenure, he was felicitated and rewarded for saving the lives of two women and nabbing the accused who'd stabbed them at Ulhasnagar station. However, in 2003, he was posted to Nizampura police station due to a senior's harassment, and he went into depression. "I am a Lingayat Brahmin. My seniors used to torture me and speak derogatory things about by caste. I didn't realise when I slipped into depression; I didn't even know that's what was wrong with me. I would get scared just seeing a police chowky," he said. In 2013, after Madhalbhawi lost his mother, he started treatment, first at an ashram with yoga and meditation. "I was absent due to a health issue, how can they give my buckle number to someone else? I found out about it after I filed an RTI application. I reapplied for my post in 2017; since then, they have held three inquiries against me but found nothing; and yet, I haven't been given my job back."