I saw of couple of change.org petitions doings rounds over the internet. The petitioners were demanding that Delhi Police should come under the ambit of Delhi Government. I couldnt suppress a smile. I seriously couldnt. Most of the petitioners believe, doing that will wipe out all forms of crime and corruption from the state. Do you guys know almost every police wing in India works under the state governments? Are those states crime free? NO. A BIG NO. Police often acts as the stooge of the ruling party. Police force is highly politicized. They are often used to crackdown on peaceful protesters and keep a check on the oppositions rallies. They even act as event coordinators for the government programs. Saifai Mahotsav is one recent example. Sadly no one talks about police reforms, which is the need of the hour. The Indian Police Act in practice today was written in 1861 by the British Empire. The ultimate aim of it was to keep nationalists in check. Of course the world has changed a lot in last 153 years. Have you seen the sorry state of lockups? 20 people crammed into a dark, dingy cage and they are even denied of a separate toilet. People are often tortured by policemen, some are even arrested illegally.People hesitate in helping accident victims because they are afraid of going to the police stations. Soli Sorabjee committee was constituted in 2005, to draft the Model Police Act. The committee submitted the draft to the Ministry of Home Affairs in October 2006. And then nothing happened. No talks. No reforms. No News. Understand one thing fellas, Police system like any other system is a victim of generalizations. There are bad people for sure but most of them (like most of us) are good fellows. There are honest people in the force who try challenging the might of politicians but they get a transfer in return. As new parties sit and vacate the CM chair, police officers go through a merry-go-round of transfers. We need reforms, we need changes....We dont need stooges.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 07:26:30 +0000