Odisha IPS officer Sudhansu Sarangi and former UP DGP Sulkan Singh have published inspiring articles in two dailies, respectively, where they have raised some important points concerning the police.
Sarangi’s article titled “Naitikata Ra Prasna” questions morality in day-to-day life and professional life of the people. Sarangi says punishment to the real culprits depends on many factors.
There must be very les number of offences; police must investigate the offences rightly, and sincerely, the witnesses must speak the truth and the trial courts must do the trial in a reasonably fixed time etc. But, if immoralities are found everywhere, the administrative institutions cannot do anything and become hollow for any purpose.
If a majority of the voters takes money to cast their votes beyond morality, the administration cannot do anything. The administration cannot watch every one in an election. Similarly, if rampant money is spent in the elections, this will certainly cast a negative impact on the whole political system, the Government and the whole system of administration. It is not possible to watch the doctor in operation theatre whether he takes money from the patients. Similarly, the judiciary cannot help much if the police falsely arrest an honest man.
After some days, the bail can be granted by the court but if the police charges are grave it may not be possible. The whole life of the man can be wasted for no fault of his.
Sarangi rightly points out the usual practices in our police administration. So, the people are paying illegal gratifications to the police to be saved and the police are creating such situations to be gratified. It is not new to our society; one may or may not admit it. This is happening in the very knowledge of our superior authorities of the administrations.
Morality and humanity are inseparable. One is incomplete in absence of the other. The birth of police is to restore morality and to remove immorality from the society and not to encourage immorality. It is most pathetic if the fence of the garden eats the crops. Now what is seen is the police are creating litigations instead of subduing litigations and litigants.
Singh, a retired DGP of UP, viewed before press on his retirement that, “in entire freedom movement and Indians struggle against British police, you can find instances of excesses but not a single case of fake encounter, fake evidences and fake investigations”. In other words, Singh was targeting the police of the independent India where fake encounter is an order of the day and proves how the police have gone revengeful in their actions and are misusing their power and authority.
The views of Sarangi and Singh are same in respect of police rule in the entire democratic union of India. It is happening because the entire police organisation in the country is working beyond the rules of law. It is the bitter experiences of the writer, that, the present police of the Odisha do not recognize even the instructions and guidelines of the Supreme Court of India. The innocent people are victimized through such malpractices. The malpractices become common phenomenon in police administration as it is evident.
From the statements of the two top police officers, it is evident that vicious situations have been created in the police administration in the country to which the intelligentsia is acting a silent onlooker.
Those who raise voices against such viciousness are harassed and punished in many ways. Singh emphatically stated in his statement that the British police were for better than today’s in many ways, especially in “behaviour and honesty”. He was utterly dissatisfied with the working of the Uttar Pradesh police. Singh was making research on this in the State archives and the libraries of the police department to analyse the functioning of the Indian Police and the
British Police. Although the British Police were foreigners and ruthless but they were following certain code of conduct. This is the opinion of Singh. In British jails, the English jailers strictly cared for the health and hygiene of the inmates mostly Indians but in today even if the jail administration is now in the hands of the Indians, the jail inmates are not humanly behaved. The jails are now over crowed and lack minimum facilities.
Now our Chief Minister may understand that why police -public relation has worsened. Singh also expressed that, “the Britishers were foreigners and dictators, but in many ways better than what we are today”. He cited the Kakori case, and said that the British police did not harass any of the family members of the accused. But today it is common to see that, the police personnel are raiding houses in the dead of the night without any FIR or compliant, on more suspicion. “It is shameful” he expressed.
Again he exclaimed of Ram Prasad Bismil’s case in Kakori incident and said, he was a suspect, but till the Britishers did not gather solid evidences against him, he was neither detained nor interrogated. He questioned, can anyone imagine this today, how the police would have acted in a high profile caseIJ He further states that if you compare the functioning and behaviour of the police of today with their predecessor in 70s, it has deteriorated alarmingly and police need to take corrective measures to improve it images.
He suggested that a person should remain as Director General of Police (DGP) at least for five to six years of a State to bring drastic changes in the police administration, which is not possible within a short period of one year or so. Singh is absolutely correct in his observations. Now, the DG Police posting has become a political posting.
We always claim that our India is having matured democracy; but within a matured democratic country such things are happening within the knowledge of every one. Hence, the views of Singh should be treated as leaving note of his retirement from Indian Police service. lastly, he expressed that, the officers of the department are not prepared to sacrifice and need huge bungalow for their comforts. He questioned when they cannot withstand the pressure of politicians, how will they face the bullets of dacoits and terrorists, which is far more riskyIJ
Kanungo requested the authorities of State and country to take the cognizance of statements of the two top police officers. If the police of the State become inimical in its service, what can be expected from the anti-socialIJ A victim can only feel the pains of police atrocities. As such, justice is under severe threat in Indian democracy, where the police become the carrier of injustice.
(The writer is a senior citizen and a columnist, 9937460649 (M), Email: nadiya.kanungo@gmail.com)