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It’s high time to have
new approach to policing BY JOGINDER SINGH IN the play, Hamlet, by
William Shakespeare, says the Prince of Denmark that there is something
rotten and wrong in the realm of Denmark. During the first two decades
after Independence, we in India used to blame for every thing wrong, or
all ills and evils, the British rule. After over five decades of
Independence, this excuse has rather worn thin and nobody even talks
about it. These days, hardly any section of our public life, is
corruption-free. The corruption has its genesis in the nexuses of the
corrupt politician with the dishonest bureaucrat. Unprincipled
businessmen also stand to benefit from this state of affairs. There is a
Hindi saying: Bhaiti Ganga Mein Hatth Dhoh Lo ( Wash your hands in the
running Ganges). So criminals, indulging in extortion and looting, have
joined their kindred in bureaucracy and politics. Murderers, dacoits,
rapists and hit-men of various hues have made it to the national and
state legislatures. Lack of transparency, coupled with red tape and time
consuming obsolete rules and procedures, encourage speed money. More
than that, cushions of legal safety, in the form of appeals after
appeals, and the principle ------ everybody is innocent till proved
guilty ------ leads to the guilty escaping for one reason or the other.
Such persons hire the best legal brains, who are able to get them out of
trouble, by legal quibbling. In the second week of April last, the Delhi
Police busted a gang involved in CBSE paper leakage. It is reported that
the paper was leaked to a coaching institute for an astronomical sum of
Rs 50 lakhs and even small functionaries, whose total salary for a
number of years would be a petty sum, made lakhs of rupees. Even the
lure of money was so much that the investigating officer, who was
looking into the matter, demanded a cut to spare some people. However,
he was trapped by the CBI, along with his other associates for demanding
bribe. Corruption, to some degree, exists in every society. But in our
country it has become rampant. Public service has been substituted by an
unabashed greed, for private gains. Campaign or warfare against
corruption is not an end in itself. The struggle against malaise is
necessary to have an effective, fair and efficient government. It is
true that corruption cannot be totally eliminated. But it should not be
forgotten that it has a negative role on all our development schemes.
The government can effectively deal with the corruption through its
stringent law and order. But this function has been privatised to some
extent. Finding that the State is not able to look after security of the
individuals properly, associations and even private industries have
hired out the security functions to the private agencies. Due to the
shortage of policemen, it has been reported that some police stations
have hired security guards to do the police functions. Where Government
cannot provide protection, the security agencies slip in to do their
job. Some of them do a commendable job. In fact, village Chaukidari
system is nothing but policing, but without the power to prosecute
offenders. I was in USA, when in service, to lead an Indian delegation.
I was surprised that the security and guarding job in the State
Department as well as in Central Intelligence Agency, was performed by
the private agencies. In fact, even under the existing Indian Laws,
every individual is given some police powers for defending himself, his
property and life of others. Causing of death of others is also
permissible, under the self-policing, or right of private defence, if no
other course is available except the death of the defender himself.
Corruption, in no form, is acceptable to any civilised society and it is
totally unacceptable in those, who are charged to protect life and
liberty of others. The police inefficiency and corruption directly
affects a common man’s right to life, and liberty. The alleged
involvement of senior police officers in crimes like murder, land
grabbing, extortion and other similar crimes is symptomatic of an
unfortunate trend of the increasing criminalisation of the police force.
On January 1, 1998, the UP Government identified 850 policemen, who had
an alleged nexus with criminals. The list of policemen included two
officers of the rank of Additional DGP, one of whom later became DGP. In
Calcutta, a police commissioner had maintained close links with the
underworld. In Haryana, an officer of the rank of DGP was caught
accepting a bribe and another D-G was involved in getting a person in
custody killed. A third one was accused of molesting a teenage girl, who
subsequently committed suicide. Another officer of the rank of IGP was
allegedly involved in smuggling operation. He was caught by the Customs
Department. One IGP of the same State is facing murder charges. In
Assam, two senior officers were involved in cases of rape. A few years
ago, an officer of the DIG rank in Rajasthan was allegedly accused of
raping his orderly's wife. He has been absconding for the last many
years. In Delhi, a senior officer of the UT cadre, of the rank of DGP
had grabbed land illegally. Some time ago in Bihar, an officer of the
rank of SP was reportedly making a fast buck dealing in stolen cars. The
nexus between the criminal policemen and criminal politicians subverts
and undermines the authority of the police leadership, as well as the
discipline of the force. If the number of complaints received, by the
National Human Rights Commission, is any forewarning, the police in the
Capital of the country has a lot to explain. In one year, the NHRC has
received between 425 to 627 such complaints against police. This is only
a tip of the iceberg. The conditions in other places are much worse, as
the involvement of top brass of the police in various scams like the
Telgi stamp scam shows. It is time to think of a new approach to
policing rather than sticking to the old concept. It is not to plead
that the police department should be closed. It is only to emphasise
that the police should be utilised for policing and not for acting as a
social policeman of the society.
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