Pali, February 2021: Number Baba (name changed), until 3 months ago, was an honest numerologist conducting his practice in the city. On the 26th of January, Number Baba was caught participating in a street brawl cum lynching and promptly arrested by Pali Police, locally known as the Palice.
Ardent followers of Baba have taken to the streets and social media to protest and express their displeasure at the high-profile arrest. Media has been abuzz with stories of disruption of normalcy in the town. In the lead up to the trial, protesters claim the law has no standing to try a man of such scientific knowledge.
During the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Number Baba pleaded innocence, but requested the prosecutor to add an additional charge to the 13 counts in his charge-sheet. He held that 13 was an unlucky number and that he would not win his case otherwise. While the prosecutor and the judge laughed and consequently ignored him, he tried to forcefully get another charge by attempting to beat up the stenographer in the court.
“That was our ploy all along,” said the defence lawyer in the press conference after the hearing. “Laws and courts are mere acute peculiarities in front of the vast expanse of knowledge of numerology.”
The judge held Number Baba in contempt of court for causing disturbance in the court proceedings and cancelled his bail. Baba’s numerology services still remain active through Signal and Telegram. (For latest active phone numbers and domains, click here.)
“We are confident that Number Baba will be let off soon,” said his assistant, Numeral Kumar (number changed), optimistically. “We have the numbers on our side.”