Ginger hadn't been keeping well. He was old. Eleven to be precise. He had a nervous breakdown and suffered a paralytic attack a week ago. He was on the verge of death, but we were trying our very best to save him. On February 14, my father wasn't home, and I thought of buying medicines for Ginger from the local medical store in Beliaghata, Kolkata.

But I didn't have a prescription. I wanted a Valium 10. Two of the medical shops didn't have the medicine in stock. I went to the third store in the area. The moment I asked for Valium, the shopkeeper gave me a disgusted look. He asked me for the prescription. I didn't have a phone then. I told him he could come down to my place and check on my dog. I tried to make him understand Ginger's condition, but in vain.

Instead of helping me out, he used expletives and called me names. I was taken aback by his response. "You want to drug yourself, right? I will give you as many tablets as you want, but first, show me the prescription," said the shopkeeper. His words shocked me. It didn't stop there as he started abusing me, and even called me a whore.

I lost it at that point. I tried to find out his name and whereabouts. He kept on evading my questions and instead challenged me to put him behind the bars. Luckily, I chanced upon the shop's bill book. Seeing the bill book in my hand, he charged towards me. He wanted to lock me inside the shop but fortunately, I ran out. What followed was horrific.

By the time I rushed out, there was a motley crowd gathered outside the shop, adding to the commotion. The shopkeeper kind of added fuel to the fire. He started gathering more people and asked them to hit me. He kept on lying that I was trying to steal his bill book with some malicious intent. He abused me and kind of egged on the mob. At least 10-odd people started hitting me. The women tried to disrobe me, while the men, taking advantage of the situation, slid their hands down my pants. They dragged me by my hair. Meanwhile, I tried my best to outwit them and get out of their clutches.

Ruth Pal Chaudhuri is a Zoology student (Image: Facebook)

They threatened me with police action. I wasn't wrong here, so I was ready to go to the cops. Also, I wanted to put the mob behind bars. But as fate had it, they didn't budge an inch. Instead, the blame game continued and so did the manhandling. Somehow, I rushed home. Ginger was still struggling. My mum came to my rescue. I narrated the entire episode to her. She urged me to take her to the shopkeeper, wanting to resolve the issue.

Keeping his machismo intact, the shopkeeper told my mum off. He abused her as well. "You should be ashamed of bringing up a whore," said the shopkeeper. Instead of even listening to us once, the mob charged towards me once again. They called the cops.

I narrated my bit only to realise that the cops were in no mood to help me out. The cops' response was a notch higher than the mob's. Rather than being helped or rescued, both my mum and I were thrown into the police van. The incident had spread like wildfire. In no time, I was infamous.

Ruth with her three dogs (Image: Facebook)

We were taken to the police station. The shopkeeper and few witnesses also accompanied us. What came as a surprise to me was the shopkeeper's account of the entire episode. He simply passed the buck. He accused me of assaulting and humiliating him in public. He also called me a drug addict. Angered by the inane accusations, my mum asked the police to put me through a drug test. However, the police didn't let the drug test happen.

Soon, the shopkeeper's wife entered the scene. She urged us to take back the complaint and sort out the situation. Out of sheer humanity and concern for the shopkeeper's wife, we decided to come to a settlement. We were about to leave, when the OC came to the scene and gave me an earful. He accused me of being a drug addict. Soon, I was dragged out of the police station by two female officers and taken to some other place. Meanwhile, my mum kept struggling to prove her point. Finally, after an hour-long bickering, we reached a settlement that I wouldn't file a complaint. But I am not satisfied. What happened to me wasn't called for. It was wrong, to say the least.

I couldn't save Ginger. He died. Ginger was like a brother to me. I will fight for justice. I have approached the DC and I will make sure the culprits get arrested. I want justice, not revenge.

(Disclaimer: The narration of events in this article is solely based on the viewpoint of the writer's. T2 Online or its subsidiaries do not hold any responsibility for the same.)

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