Spicy Tales About 'Missing’ Samosas, Fish, Chicken Legs

Dehradun: The interesting story of the “missing samosas” has created a stir in the politics of Himachal Pradesh, grabbing national headlines as state Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu grapples with its fallout. During my journalistic career, I have heard few such stories where food meant for so-called VIPs was savoured by the hungry staff leading to amusing situations and even official action making headlines.

The latest incident took place when samosas and refreshments meant for the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, during a function associated with the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) on October 21, instead of being served to the VIP guest, was “savoured” by the security staff, realising little that it would turn into an unsavoury controversy.

A probe was ordered by the state CID over the “missing samosas”, which was termed as an “anti-government” act.  Five police personnel, including a woman inspector were served show cause notices for their ‘devouring’ act, according to media reports.

As the issue grabbed national headlines, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in the state, took it up forcefully to hit out at the Congress government for ordering an inquiry into the “missing samosas” and turning a blind eye to cases concerning the masses that require urgent attention. Apologetic Himachal Pradesh police said the inquiry was an internal departmental matter.

While, BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur held “samosa parties”, the issue went viral on social media with many senior national BJP leaders pitching in to embarrass the Congress.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukhu accused the BJP of trying to exploit a non-issue. Sanjeev Ranjan Ojha, Director General (DG), CID, said it was an internal matter and the government had nothing to do with it. He said merely verbal orders were issued to find out what happened to the snacks ordered for the Chief Minister. He further said that no action would be taken against anyone and people should refrain from escalating and politicising the matter.

The row over who ate the samosas meant for the CM started when three boxes of refreshments were brought from Hotel Radisson Blue in Lakkar Bazaar of Shimla. But the boxes were served to the CM’s security staff, as per the enquiry report which was conducted by a DSP.

As a correspondent with The Indian Express newspaper from 1992 till 1994 in Jammu and Kashmir, one had heard a similar interesting story about “missing chicken legs” which also made to the pages of newspaper in the 1980s. Khemraj Khajuria, a firebrand Union leader of J&K Minerals Limited, who was a regular in the Express office in Jain Bazar narrated this story, which was duly reported by veteran journalist N.D. Sharma, this writer’s predecessor.

At that time, there was some workers’ trouble at Kalakot coal mines owned by J&K Mineral Limited, leading to an agitation and police firing in which few workers died. This led to unrest in the town in Rajouri district in the late 1980s. As usual, senior police officers were sent to maintain law and order and take stock of the situation.

One such senior police officer T.R. Kalra, the first IPS officer of J&K police, who was DIG, Jammu province, was sent to Kalakot. Arrangements were made by the police for his stay in the guest house and the staff of J&K Mineral Corporation Limited were deputed to look after him. The local police procured two chickens for the officer’s dinner. The cook who was tasked to prepare the dinner could not resist the temptation and ate two chicken leg pieces. The rest two leg pieces were served to the VIP guest.

A ruckus broke out when the said police official asked about the two missing leg pieces, much to the embarrassment of local police and J&K Mineral Corporation Limited officials. The poor cook who had devoured the two chicken legs was suspended.

Senior journalist Sharma, who was known for breaking stories, wrote a piece about the “missing chicken leg pieces”, which was carried on front page of The Indian Express. Kalra, who also served as J&K DGP, passed away in 2016 and Khemraj Khajuria is also no more Sharma passed away early this year in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

Another similar story one heard was while covering Haryana from 1996 till 1998. It was about “missing fish” meant for Haryana Governor Dhanik Lal Mandal, who served as Governor from 1990 till 1995. One heard that Mandal was very fond of fish. He was staying at Haryana Niwas in New Delhi so fish was prepared for his dinner. However, when he did not turn up till late in the night, the kitchen staff ate it up. On his return, the Governor demanded dinner along with fish, making the staff run helter-skelter and someone was sent to fetch fish again from the market.

The Governor, who was a simpleton, unable to resist his hunger, went to the kitchen but was told by a smart cook that the fish prepared for him was eaten by a cat and that he would have wait a bit as fish was being procured. Mandal, who was not fussy, returned to his room and waited for his favourite fish curry. No action was taken against anyone.                         

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.