Even as Uttar Pradesh Police continues to face heat and even attacks by irate mobs in the wake of repeated rapes and murders in the State, cops in western UP have found an innovative way of protecting themselves, they simply lock the police station from the inside at night and open it only when they need to!
Residents were shocked to find the gates of Gulaothi Police Station in Bulandshahr district locked from the inside on Friday night and raised a hue and cry about it.The idea was apparently to keep the public out of the police station, but an embarrassed SSP claimed it was just a safety measure as the police station is facing an acute manpower shortage.
“The staff at the police station had locked the main entrance to the building since the police station is short of staff and only one clerk was on duty on Friday. He had to look after the security as well as the clerical work, so on Friday night he locked the police station’s main gate from the inside to ensure the security of the inmates in the lockup. He, however, took the decision on his own without apprising any senior officer,” said Bulandshahr SSP Umesh Kumar. He said a departmental enquiry has been ordered to fix the responsibility.
Police sources said that a preliminary investigation into the incident has revealed that the clerk took the unusual decision to lock the police station from the inside because inmates began complaining of severe heat inside the lockup after a power outage in the area, including the police station. “Moved by their plight he decided to let the inmates out of the cell and allow them to roam inside the station building. However, to ensure that the inmates did not escape, he locked the gate from inside,” sources said. They claimed the power supply was restored only after 1 am and so it was inhuman to keep the inmates inside the hot, airless cell for long.
Interestingly, the power department officials contradicted the police theory saying the power supply was restored before midnight.Meanwhile, in another incident some UP policemen were attacked and senior district officials roughed up in Muzaffarnagar district late on Friday night for refusing to lodge a complaint about the rape of a mentally challenged woman. The situation was brought under control only on Saturday, an official said. The victim was raped on Tuesday near the Basi Village graveyard, but her family learnt about it only on Friday. The victim’s brother went to lodge a complaint with the police but the Station House Officer (SHO) of Dulhera allegedly refused to do so. Incensed at the SHO’s refusal to lodge a complaint hundreds of villagers protested at the Shahpur Police Station. They also manhandled the SHO who was chased and beaten up.
When the news reached the district administration, top officials, including District Magistrate Kaushalraj Sharma and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) HN Singh, rushed to the spot. The SSP was also not spared by the mob and his uniform was torn.The crowd was angry that the police not only refused to register a case, but also refused to send the victim for a medical examination. Sensing that the situation might get out of control, the DM ordered a medical examination of the woman. The State Government also intervened at midnight and suspended six policemen, including the Circle Officer of Shahpur.