Who will Guard the guardians?

Yet another incident of rape by a police man! This time it’s a rag picker aged 15! The shock of a high profile rape, in which a constable raped a collage student inside the Marine Drive police station, not yet subsided. In this year, 6 cases of sexual assault by police men are registered. Why the keepers of Law themselves break it? There is surge in crimes like Assault, Blackmailing, indiscipline, Corruption, Molesting, Murder involving the Police. Some top cops are cooling their heels in the jail for charges varying from custody-death to stamp paper scam to Underworld connections! The Mumbai police, not long ago, touted as the best in the country. Their case-solving percentage was one of the highest in the world. What happened to such a highly efficient and alert force to stoop to such depths? Is it a phenomenon that engulfed the entire force? Or is it just some criminal elements that ruining the name of the entire force? Just look at some of the incidents this writer witnessed to;

1. A poor Newspaper vendor selling papers on Khar East Bridge. Three Uniformed railway police came to him, and picked up THREE copies of a Marathi paper! One for EACH!! And went without paying.
2. In the same area, a policeman picked a bagful of Tomatoes from a street side vendor. Ofcource without paying.
3. In Fort area, a policeman tried to take a handful of chocolates from a street side vendor after taking his regular Hafta. When the shop keeper protested, threatens him.

What is the justification for such acts? It is a common knowledge that Police doesn’t pay for the service they hire/buy. True they are underpaid, living in poor conditions, and are working 18 stressful hours a day! If that’s an excuse, then criminals are also have the same problem! What’s more, they don’t have a regular income!

Our police forces, mainly the lower rung, still lives in those British Raj times. Then they have sweeping powers, and people looked at them with fear. 3^rd degree was a common practice and custody deaths were not a hot-topic. The times have changed, but the police not. Now the public are more aware about their rights, and often argue with policemen. They still think they can get away with such rowdism.

Another thing to note is almost all these crimes committed under the influence of alcohol. A lot of policemen consume liquor while on duty. It is assuming gigantic proportions. What if there is some emergency and required them to act immediately? Can they still function without any problem? The police are enforcing draconian laws like the Plastic ban even when the government set a one-month period to know the public reaction. But no one is interested in curbing these criminal activities within the police.

There was reports showing a new trend in recruitment. More and more educated youth opting to join the police and its good news. With them around, and these under-educated thugs are fast fading, such incidents too fade and a new, vibrant and efficient police force emerge. Till then, there is no respite despite all the laws and an active judiciary.