Experience of a girl caned by lady police officers

Experience of a girl from Karaikudi, India

Experience of a girl from Karaikudi, India

(From the forumjar.com, re-casted by Colombocaner@gmail.com )

This incident happened in 1996 when I was in the 12th standard in school. I was attending a girls’ school where I was an average student. We used to have an occasional smoke during the school interval. I was not addicted to smoking but it felt like an adult when we smoked. For this we had a place outside the school premises which is used as some branch of a government office. As we were senior girls there was no issue of coming out of the school during the intervals and going back in. One day when I was alone in our smoking spot I was caught by two lady constables who were passing the narrow pathway.  They told me that smoking in a public place is an offence and insisted that I accompany  them to the police station. I have seen people smoking in public areas before and after this incident. However because of the way they were admonishing me and telling me that I have broken the law I was thinking maybe they were not lying.

They took me to a police station which was located about 600 yards from the school. It was a mahila police station where all officers and constable were women. Once there I was produced before a lady inspector who although slightly smaller in size seems to be very busy and very strict. She told me that I would be produced before a magistrate and probably be sentenced to a jail time. I was so frightened what would happen if I was sentenced to jail. Hence I was pleading with her to let me go this time with the promise that I will never smoke again. She pretended to not to be convinced with my pleading and promises and said that I needed to be punished for breaking the law. Then in the same angry tone she said if I can take caning in the police station she could let me go without been produced in the courts. I did not have a choice other than agreeing to a caning, as been held in the police station overnight and been produced in courts with the possibility of a jail time seemed a huge risk. Getting jailed would have totally ruined my life, my schooling and the future. Been caned occasionally is not alien to a school child in India. I thought it will be a caning like the ones administered by the school principal or the teacher in charge of discipline while we were in the junior school. Caning in junior school is limited to several strokes on the open palm.

When I agreed to undergo a caning one of the constables told me to be seated on a bench in the corridor where there were few other civilians. While I was seated I was more worried whether I would fall in to trouble with the school for not going back after the interval. Truancy was taken seriously by the school and always the parents were informed. Although there was no corporal or any other punishment in the senior school having to come with the parents would be a big embarrassment apart from the black mark in my disciplinary record. After about a half an hour a lady nurse came to the area I was seated and called my name.  I stood up to say she was looking for me. She told me to follow her which I did. She took me to a room and closed the door behind her and proceeded to a table. I was told to sit in the chair opposite her. Thereafter she asked for my age, names of parents, what they do for living and some other questions. She was making some notes in the papers she had in her hand, while talking to me. I was also asked me whether I was having my periods.  I told her I was not. Thereafter she said she has to examine me for any previous injuries. I didn't comprehend what she meant by 'having to examine'. When I gave her the puzzled look she told me that she has to see my buttocks to ensure that I didn’t have any prior injuries. I fell really embarrassed for been asked to show the buttocks to a stranger. At the same time I became apprehensive with the indication that I was going to be caned on the buttocks. Apart from an occasional slap or two by a parent or by an adult, when I was a small child, I had never been caned or punished in any other manner on the buttocks. The lady continued to give me a no nonsense look, as if to say If I do not show her my buttocks I will be in some kind of trouble.  When I was not doing anything she said that I should remove my chudidhar (Salwar Kameez) pant and jatti. Then I stood up and pulled my chudidhar pant down to the floor and pulled the jatti half way down to my thighs and raised the chudidhar top to my waist exposing my buttocks to her.  She touched them and ran her hand on both cheeks as if she was inspecting to buy some meat at the stall. After couple of minutes she said "ok" and told me to pull my pants up. I pulled my jatti and chudidhar pants up. She then took her papers and walked out of the room telling me to remain there. I was so frightened and I was sweating in my palms and in the face.  I was dreading with the thought that someone is going to walk in to the room with a cane and would start caning my behind. I could see and hear people walking about outside the window and I was also feeling embarrassed that they would see or hear me been caned. 

After about 20 minutes she came back to tell me that I have to go to the first floor of the building. She walked with me to the bottom of the staircase and remained there and I was told to go up the stairs. In the upper floor there were bundles of documents and files all over and there were several small cubicles. In one of the cubicles I saw the two constables who brought me here. Seeing me one constable came out of the room and took me in to room at the end of the corridor. This was a slightly bigger room without any openings other than the door. The other constable too followed us. I was told by her that I will be punished by way of a 5 stroke caning.  The fear was building inside me but I knew I had no other option other than facing whatever that is to happen to me in their hands.  So I nodded to indicate that I understood what she said. I was then told to remove all my clothes except my shoes and socks.  When I heard that my head started spinning due to fear and embarrassment and on the predicament I was in.  Reluctantly I started removing my school uniform.  I removed my chudidhar top and my pant. Then I removed my bra and jatti. This part was so embarrassing to me as never in my adult life I have been naked in front of anyone.  I always keep my jatti even in my shower. I was curtly told by one of them to place all the clothes on the table at the side of the room and move to the wall where there was a fixed pole from the floor to the roof.  One of the lady constable took out a pair of handcuffs from her back pocket and handcuffed me to a pole. I was then told to kneel down and I complied. Thereafter one lady constable went out of the room saying that she will get the lathi.  The other constable started telling me that the caning is going to be very painful and how much I deserve to be thoroughly caned for smoking when I was young and for breaking the law. She was telling me that they intend to take the skin off my by behind to teach me a lesson that I will not easily forget. This made me so helpless and frightened about the caning that tears started rolling down my face.

After couple of minutes the other constable came in with a long lathi in hand. She also was also telling me that the caning is going to be very painful and told me to close my eyes if I want to. Although her tone was bit kinder than the other constable I started trembling after seeing the size of the lathi in her hand. I could not close my eyes or take my eyes off the lathi. I started sobbing while  the constable stood behind me and arched her hand back until the lathi almost touched her back. Without  a warning  she hit my buttocks with all her might. It felt like thousand needles piercing me at the same time. I screamed and started begging for mercy. I never thought a caning could hurt that much. She meanwhile arched the lathi back and waited for a full minute or so and hit me very hard right across of my behind which is already wobbling uncontrollably from the intensity of the first stroke. This time it was even more painful and I was screaming from the top of my lungs. She was caning me so ferociously as if I had personally done something very bad to her to make her so furious with me. I looked back to her pleadingly but her eyes were focused on my behind and her facial expression however was as if she was doing something routine and mundane. I was screaming so loud because of the unbearable pain, my voice broke.  I continued to weep like a small girl and was writhing due to the unbearable pain. I was trying to take my bottom away from the path of the lathi. Because I am handcuffed to the pole and I was on my knees I could not move away too much. She however did not stop in her 'mission' and hit me once more with full force right across by buttocks.  It was clear that whatever I did or however much I cried and begged the caning is not going to cease. My suffering continued with me begging to be spared while she was calmly going about her business. I had never been in that much pain ever in my life.  She duly continued to cane me until she had given me all of the 5 cuts that they promised.  

I was crying so much there was no sound coming out of my mouth. I was gasping for air, and I felt my mouth had gone completely dry. I fell on the floor due to the pain as soon as the other constable removed my handcuffs. I was writhing on the floor in inexplicable pain. I felt like my buttocks were burning as if I was sitting on flames. There were big thick welts right across my buttocks but there was no blood. The constables told me that they only gave 5 strokes as I was a young girl.  They said if I was bigger they would have caned me more thoroughly. I was told to get dressed and meet the inspector to thank her and leave the police station. I went back to school and spent the rest of the time sobbing in a toilet.

When I came home that day I inspected by behind in the mirror and by bottom was in a mess with many angry and purple welts

The following day my entire body was aching apart from the pain in the buttock area. In spite of that I went to school as I didn't want a soul to find out I was stripped and thrashed in a police station. Although the pain subdued after about 4-5 days the marks on my buttocks remained for 3 whole weeks before they disappeared. I never smoked in my life after that day at the police station. I also became a law abiding person out of fear of enforcement authorities. The caning also wiped out my impertinent attitude which made my mother to say that I had become a very responsible person. Little did they know what it took to take the insolence out of me as I never told anyone in the school or anyone in the family about my very embarrassing and very painful experience on that fateful day.

Priya (Not my real name)