For Patnaik, the lathi charge was one of the most important parts of being a police officer. A lathi charge, to him, was the solution when facing a disobedient crowd, and his men had a lot of practice in it. They knew the right places to hit people with sticks. Just the right places, and in just a way so that nobody was seriously injured, but hurt so much that a crowd would break up and the people would run away.

So Patnaik’s men charged the Gonds, who did not expect it. They thought Patnaik would ask questions, wait for some time, perhaps call the Collector. After all, he had important guests with him, didn’t he? But he didn’t wait. Lathi charge. So the mahji, and Jadob, and the elders in the front line got hit first, and then the next row, and so on, until the mass of people was physically pushed into smaller groups, and a path was cleared. Korok, in the second row, got hit a few times in the back and ankles, and a vicious jab at his left foot by a policeman’s boot opened a small cut, making him hobble with pain.

The surveyors quickly got into their vehicles, and were taken through the crowd towards Deogan, although some were heard muttering about how all this was completely unexpected.

Several of the elders and Jadob were rounded up and pushed into some of the police cars. In the confusion, Korok too found himself arrested, or detained, or whatever it was. Nobody knew exactly what was happening, except Patnaik, who ordered them sent back to Balangir police station, where the Gonds were pushed around some more and made to sit on the floor in a small room, without water, for the rest of the day.

Some of the elders were in a lot of pain, but the policemen on guard did not listen to them. Korok sat in a corner nursing his foot, completely dazed. The mighty hand of the government had fallen on the Gonds, and for the moment nobody knew what to do except hope they would be let off so they could get treated. In all this, the villagers forgot that Korok, being younger than eighteen years and therefore a minor, should not have been detained with the others inside the police station. But Patnaik made the rules, so perhaps he remembered only those rules that he wanted to remember.

The Gonds were finally allowed to go home late at night, but not before Patnaik returned from Deogan and gave them a long lecture on the importance of following sorkari orders.

Then the group was pushed out into the street. How they would go home was not important to the sorkar. But Bishto and his bus magically appeared down the road, and the villagers were taken home for free, Bishto saying he had earned enough for the day and didn’t need their money.