"Five months ago, I was on duty when a man driving a fancy car — I can't remember which one but it was definitely one of those big cars — charged on me, after I asked him to pay a parking fee of Rs 20," said Ashish Kumar.
Ashish, 27, is a parking attendant in southwest Delhi's Basant Lok market near PVR Priya.
It was in this market where on 1 February, Vikas Thakur, a 34-year-old parking attendant was thrashed with a bat, allegedly by a car owner, after Vikas asked him to pay Rs 60 in parking fee.
As per his family, Vikas — who is currently admitted at the Trauma Centre in AIIMS — suffered injuries on his head and lower back, and was still critical at the time of writing this report.
"His condition is still critical. He has undergone two surgeries for treatment of injuries on his head. This morning the doctors told us that while he is doing better, nothing can be said as of now," Vikas's wife Shobha Devi told The Quint.
Ashish, however, said he wasn't surprised after he heard about what happened with Vikas.
"Verbal and physical abuse by car owners is not new. I fail to understand why or how somebody who can afford a car not have the heart to pay Rs 20 or Rs 50 as the parking fee," he told The Quint.
Jitendra Kumar, a parking attendant since 2003, believes that car owners misbehave with parking attendants because it helps them "assert their wealth and power."
"Paise ki dhauns dikhaate hain sab (They bully us because they have money)," said Jitendra, currently employed at a parking space in Connaught Place.
The Quint spoke to parking attendants across Delhi about the perils of the job, redressal forums, and everyday instances of verbal and physical abuse.
But First, What Happened on 1 February?
At around 1 pm on Wednesday, 2 February, 32-year-old Shobha Devi reached the AIIMS Trauma Centre in Delhi. This after Manoj Kumar — her husband Vikas Thakur's friend and co-worker — told her that Vikas was "hospitalised after someone thrashed him with a bat."
Resident of Jharkhand's Itkhori village, Shobha along with her brother Ratan Thakur, took the first flight to Delhi.
"Hum bohot darr gaye the. Isiliye Train aur bus ka intezaar nahi kiya. Jaise taise padosiyon se paise lekar plane ki ticket kara li (We were really scared and couldn't wait for a train or a bus. We borrowed money from our neighbours and relatives and booked flight tickets)," Shobha said.
Manoj, also a parking attendant, was with Vikas when he was attacked. In his statement to the police, Manoj said that at around 10 pm on 1 February, when he and Vikas approached the accused asking him to pay the parking fee, the accused threatened and verbally abused them.
"Even at first, we could sense that the matter might escalate. So, after asking him to pay a few times, we decided to let him go. It was quite late in the evening and we didn't want the situation to worsen," he said.
Manoj added that the accused, who was drunk at the time of the incident, took out a bat from his car, and chased him and Vikas.
"I could smell the alcohol from a distance. He chased us for around 250 meters, and thrashed Vikas after he eventually caught hold of him," he said.
As per DCP (Southwest) Manoj C, the Delhi Police received a PCR call regarding the incident around 10.30 pm on Wednesday, 1 February.
"A case of attempt to commit culpable homicide under Section 308 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at the Vasant Vihar police station and one Vikram Jeet Singh, a 28-year-old physical education teacher, was apprehended along with the car," the DCP said.
'In Search of Work...'
Residents of Jharkhand, Manoj and Vikas both migrated to Delhi, in search of work 18-19 years ago.
"Bohot time ho gaya Dilli mein. Theek se yaad nahi hai, lekin kuch 18-19 saal pehle aaye the yahan kaam karne. Ye naukri karte hue bhi kam se kam 15 saal ho gaye hain (We've spent a lot of time in Delhi. I don't remember the exact date but both Vikas and I moved to the city 18-19 years ago, in search of work. We've been working as parking attendants for at least 15 years)," he said.
Manoj added, "Physical brawls and verbal abuses are part and parcel of our job. These people don't value us and the work we do. Vikas has three children, all under 10 years of age. If something happens to him, who will take care of them?"
"We earn between Rs 300-350 a day. This income is not stable. Even we feel like going back to our families in the villages but we can't because we came here to work and that is all we ask for," he added.
'It's a Power Trip'
Jitendra, like Ashish and Manoj, remembers when a few years ago he was at the receiving end of abuses by an angry car owner in a market in southwest Delhi's RK Puram.
"It was around 9 pm when a person driving a Honda Amaze entered the parking lot. I asked him for the keys to move the car around in case somebody else wants to exit or enter.
The car owner refused to give the keys and said he'll park the car somewhere else. A few hours later, he came back drunk and started abusing me because he couldn't locate his car. What was my fault?" he recalled.
Ashish and Manoj believe that there should be a forum where these grievances can be raised. "Right now, we can only go to the police. But by the time the police arrives, damage is already done."
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