Police: Frankenstein Monster or a saviour?

It is a common feeling in our society that police are by and large a hate figure. Why and how these adverse public feelings have been increasing in our society, is worth investigating. A quick guess can be derived from what I experienced.

I was in a metropolitan Magistrate court last month, where a police officer was openly threatening an accused, “I’m the “Bhai”; no one should go against me. Keep my words in the mind and do accordingly.”

It was not the only case I have noticed. There were a lot of complaints one would come across practically everyday in Mumbai or Maharashtra. During 1990s, the underworld “Bhaies” were ruling Mumbai and police gave them full cover. But times have changed. Now the police themselves have become Bhais.

Not only in J Dey murder case, Assistant Commissioner of Police Anil Mahabole was questioned for several hours or the case of Raigad Rave party, when Anil Jadav from Narcotics personally was caught in the crime net, we have seen in the past as well, that some senior officers have been accused of involvement in cases of murder, rape, attempt to murder, abduction, and even big ticket multi-crore scams.

Senior police inspector, Arun Borude, allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl from the slums. He was later found dead. Inspector Pradeep Sharma was dismissed for his alleged links with the underworld. He was later arrested in the fake encounter case of Lakhan Bhayya. Inspector Pradip Suryavanshi is also facing murder charge in the Lakhan Bhayya case. Sub-inspector Daya Nayak was arrested for alleged possession of  disproportionate assets. Sub-inspector Sachin Waze was suspended for his alleged role in Ghatkopar bomb blast accused, Khwaja Yunus’ custodial death. S S Wagal, a former joint commissioner of state police’s intelligence department, was arrested for his alleged role in the multi-crore Telgi scam. Senior inspector Arun Khanvilkar, suspended on corruption charges, has handled sensitive terror cases for the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) allegedly taking bribes from suspects. Sub-inspector Munir Shaikh was arrested in April 2011for allegedly abetting the suicide of a woman.

And last month story of Kolhapur police training school where recruits got pregnant. Eleven female trainee constables were tested positively in the routine pregnancy test. And after that Police Trainer Yuvraj Maruti Kamble was arrested while another officer got transferred and two more received suspension orders.

At that time Member of Parliament from Kolhapur constituency Sadashiv Rao Mandlik came down heavily on the DSP Yashasvi Yadav and alleged that, “Sexual exploitation of these women trainees is going unabatedly from the past three years and it could well be a  part of an organized crime syndicate. District superintendent of police Yashasvi Yadav is the key member of this syndicate and is involve in various illegal activities like extortion, Hafta wasooli, and women trafficking”.

Former IPS Officer YP Singh says, “The nexus of the underworld with the police was very pronounced during the heydays of encounter specialists. They developed close links with the underworld as a natural consequence from the imperatives of collecting intelligence. For, most of the sources who supply information about the underworld themselves are linked to gangsters. This relationship, however, did not limit itself to being purely professional, and the proximity led certain elements of the police to work for specific gangs”.

Singh added that after the ranks of encounter specialists were depleted and got shattered one after another, this nexus has got substantially diluted. "The stringent provisions under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act, 1999 has also led many police personnel to shed their links with the underworld”.

When asked, what are the reasons for the increasing crime involving the police personnel? Singh said; “Since police carry with them the overwhelming aura of the uniform, it is under a greater watch and scrutiny by the public and the media. That is the reason why even minor crimes by the police get projected in a way which would never happen had the culprits been from other professions".

What is required, Singh said, is to analyse the incidence of crime vis-à-vis other categories of people. "Besides, police also command enormous power. The precept, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely gets fully reflected in this scenario," he said.

But S P Yadav, joint Police Commissioner (Adm.) Mumbai holds contrarian views. When asked him if it is true that police department needs reformation? He said, “Now the entire society needs reforms. Police personnel are the part of our society and they could be involved in crimes, but it is not always to be blamed.”

Yes of course, Yadav said, many cases have been registered in recent days but they have been caught by police itself. "So many things are going wrong in our society and we cannot blame it on police department," he said.

Singh said that failure of the police hierarchy to take action against dubious personnel is a major concern and that makes the wicked more powerful and who in turn relegates the non-corrupt to the periphery. In the case of J Dey, he said, the concerned officer was under scrutiny for long, but instead of being punished he was pampered and given coveted posts. "Generally, those who get involved in crimes and corruption carry suspicious demeanor but because of their control over the hierarchy they go unpunished. In fact, many a time such diabolical officers are conferred with medals and citations,” he said.

Jatin Desai, a senior journalist, said that under Supreme court's supervision every state has implemented Police reforms, except Maharashtra. In 1977, when Janta Party was in the government, it has prepared some guide lines, but that was not implemented. “The police-politicians nexus should be dismantled. Without political interference we cannot purge the police department of corrupt malpractices," he said.