Close encounters of the third kind

Now, lemme think. I have been caught by the cops several times, but to reassure the skeptics those cops have all been of the traffic breed. My crime kitty includes over speeding, driving through a one way and not having a valid emission certificate for my car. The only interaction with the other kind has been when I was in the police station for my passport. I came very close day before in having a tete-a-tete with them.

I work out in a gym near my college. A couple of days ago I found a key in my bag which I carry to the gym. It wasn't mine and the only way I realized that the key had found its way into my bag via the gym were from the bold letters yelling "GYM" on the key chain. I found it in the top compartment of my bag where the zip is broken. Like a good Samaritan, I returned the key in the gym in the evening.

In the evening around 10, my friend A, received a call from the gym owner about the keys. He had no idea about the keys and as I had gone along with him he figured out that I must know something about it and handed over the call to me. I just told him that I found it in my bag and I just returned it. After an hour, he called again! And this time he was serious.

"What is the problem yaar?" I asked.
"Dont call me yaar, I am not your friend! Call me Sir."

This was the same guy who had talked with me a couple of days ago with me like a long lost buddy about my schedule and nutrition.

"You go to the gym right now to resolve the issue or I will have to send the cops to your hostel."
"But dude, its 11 in the night!!"
"Again! Watch your language!"

I didn't know about any sudden change in social norms where 'Dude' and 'yaar' were considered hostile words and people were asked to mind their language. Anyway not wanting any complications at 11 in the night we went to the gym to discuss about the 'Issues'!

There were a couple of points that made the gym suspicious about the two of us. If you have valuables with you like wallets, mobiles etc they can be dropped off at the counter after making an entry in the register. That day A was dropping off his stuff and I asked him to deposit my wallet along with his at the counter. He made an entry in the register. Apparently every one who comes to gym irrespective of depositing stuff should make an entry in the register. Now we had no clue about this. The instructor signatures were there on our health cards but I had not signed the register that day. Now they grew suspicious that two guys entered together and there was only one entry. There were a couple of pilferage cases in the gym a couple of months ago which led to the arrest of a member, sacking of some an instructor and a receptionist.

Now based on the conversations I had there, I have made a list of points that would have made Dr.Watson proud. ( These are just case facts, not the solution and hence only Dr.Watson comes into the picture)

-> The key was found in the front compartment of my bag which had a broken zip. Did it fall into the open compartment or was it placed there or was it put in to be collected later?
-> The key lost was from the morning batch. I always go in the evening. So how did a morning batch key land up in my bag in the evening?
-> Why did the instructor who had lost his key not reported the loss?
-> If the keys were lost how was the gym being opened in the morning?

The point here is not that this whole issue happened. The issue here is that it is so easy to frame someone into a tight situation which he cant wriggle out of. And the legal system is India is so brilliant I dont have to tell much about it. Recently there was a case where an employee of HCL was accused of putting up stuff about Shivaji in Orkut that led to rioting in Maharashtra. After some 15 days in jail, it was declared that he wasnt the person who did that and was let off. Within no time your life can be screwed beyond repair and you wont even understand what is happening around you. At the end of the day, it was a new experience for me that reinforced Momma's advice to stay away from strangers and always mind your own business!