The recent case of an overweight police constable being made to carry an officer piggyback during a fitness drill at Udham Singh Nagar police lines on January 24 and the subsequent official inquiry ordered into the incident have spurred discussion within the police department. While some said that it is good move on the part of the DGP to have taken the issue seriously and ordered an inquiry led by DIG, others defended what had happened, explaining it as a routine exercise with nothing amiss in it.
Those who are opposed to what had happened said that forcing an overweight constable to carry an officer piggyback during the fitness drill amounts to a most humiliating thing for the police. Others who find nothing amiss in it say that physical agility is the be all and end all of policing, particularly in a Himalayan State like Uttarakhand where natural calamities happen off and on.
“Though it is right that the police personnel should not be overweight as they must do things which an over- weight cop finds difficult to execute it does not mean that we must resort to practice that was natural in the medieval era. Now, things are founded on the fulcrum of dignity of work. Particularly for police who still inspire awe among the common people, forcing one to carry another piggyback amounts to an onslaught on the dignity of the force. We hope, things would be corrected after the probe is over and such an inhumane practice would not be taken recourse to again in future,” said a senior cop based in Dehradun, requesting anonymity.
Another senior police official based in the capital differed. “We wonder why such a hue and cry is being raised on nothing more than a trifle while we accept that it is part of our duty to carry people piggyback during the time when the natural calamity-struck people look forward to us to carry them on our backs and bring them to safer places. Seeing red in what has happened during the recent fitness drill in Udham Singh Nagar district militates against the normal norms of policing. The police personnel must be encouraged to shed excess weight to remain fit and agile to perform duties perfectly,” he said, again insisting on anonymity.
Asked to comment on the controversy now raging in the police department as well as in the social networking sites, a constable said that they are used to carrying an injured colleague piggyback. “Should we raise hammer and tongs if we were asked to do the same when our colleagues are injuredIJ If things were so it would mean that the force has become inhumane and not the other way round,” he said.
Notably, DGP BS Sidhu had taken cognisance of the issue after seeing the video and subsequently ordered an inquiry. What is more, the report submitted by DIG Kumaon PS Sailal on the contentious matter seems to be at variance with the video clip which triggered the outrage. Apparently peeved over this, DGP BS Sidhu again ordered a high level probe by IG PHQ Deepam Seth. The senior officer has been asked to submit the report soon.
Many in the department say that DGP going in such a pro-active mode is due to his being left in the dark by the district police brass. “There are reasons to suppose that his ego was hurt. However, going for action against colleagues when the latter have points to defend themselves would not augur well for the police department as a whole. Maybe, this is coordination gap. But the top cop frowning over one of his colleagues this way goes against the norms of policing,” said a senior cop posted in the State police headquarters.
He further said they had undergone more rigorous practices during their training period. “We took things in the right spirit,” he added.
However, another said DGP taking a serious note of the things has served its purpose. “Training might be rigorous. We cannot grudge against it. But reducing us to public ridicule would weaken the force. Besides, it would result in ego getting the better of duty. Such practice must stop for the sake of effective policing,” he said.
Notably, constable Manoj Kumar, posted at Kunda police station of the district, was found weighing 97 kg. He was asked to take a round of the ground while carrying piggyback the station officer of Pant Nagar RC Makholia. While the images flashed on social media spawned criticism SSP Kewal Khurana who was supposed to have ordered it kept his cool, explaining things in terms of routine fitness test.