Satyamev Jayate: Episode 2 covers lesser-known facts about Indian Police!

Host Aamir Khan began the show by bringing the attention to that aspect of governance that should be changed pronto to hasten the process of societal makeover. The episode was indeed an eye-opener.

The point of focus this time around was the Indian Police which is a body that has to work 12 months, 365 days and 24X7 and that too in a state that is “only a little better than that of a daily wage labourer.”

Shocking Truths:

IPS officer Abhinav Kumar was invited first and he talked about the problems prevalent in the police department at every stage right from recruitment, to training, deployment and working conditions.

Due to lack of proper work arrangement, the police workforce has to operate from tents, sheds and likewise makeshift places. In addition to these conditions, working overtime without any leave, low salaries and poor accommodation lead to lower morale and motivation to work hard. Most of the time, the policewallahs have to take help of Rasook or Jugaad or his goodwill to run the police station.

And did you know that the Police department is pulled up almost all the time by the electricity guys for non-payment of bills? Very ironical, isn’t it?

Aamir Khan cited an example by his own experience that during the shooting of his movie ‘Sarfarosh’ he met some policemen who disclosed that to do their official work they have to spend from their own pocket due to lack of enough funds.

My way or the Highway:

Prakash Singh, an ex-IPS Officer, narrated to the audience, how the definition of faith and loyalty has change now. He said it is the “Ruler’s police, not the people’s police. They (policemen) are accountable to the rulers.” He described the new concept of faithfulness which means to be faithful to the ministers whether they are doing right or wrong activities. So if the policeman is loyal to the Netas in any situation, then he will be given a good posting and perks etc. This practice influences the moral and way of working of the policemen. Mr. Prakash further said that at every police rank, an official has forged ties with a person in power or an MLA. So if he does not like to obey what his senior officer says, he complains to the MLA to pull-up or transfer the official.

Mr. Prakash also narrated a story about how once he made a list of 10 corrupted IAS, IPS officials in his range and handed it to the government for further inquiry with an assurance to provide supporting evidence if needed. To his shock, he found that no inquiry was done on the corrupted officials, and instead, a government official thanked him for giving them the list as they could easily use those corrupted people for their own selfish motives.

The talk also revealed how an honest, law abiding policeman is sidelined, suspended by leveling false charges against him, and most of them are tortured, so that they agree to mend their ways. As a result, a large number of officials break down and start working the way they are asked by the corrupt authorities.

Mr. Prakash also said that after he filed a PIL in the court to stop the unfair transfer of policemen by the politicians, the SC had passed a ruling under which only UPSC has the power to hand pick people who are worthy of being given the post of Directorate General of Police. And the minister has to choose between only the chosen candidates. This implies that the ministers will have control over the Police affairs but not arbitrary regulation.

Apparently, this ruling was not accepted by any state government and none agreed to abide by it.

Justice K T Thomas, ex-judge Supreme Court, who was in-charge of the SC ruling said that one miffed Home minister of a certain state whined about the use of winning the elections when he could not get the power to transfer a police official.

The show then moved on to highlight the deplorable state of constables and trainee constables who are asked to do odd jobs like washing laundry, peeling vegetables, and even taking the pet dog of the Neta for a walk.

What is even sad is the fact that the children of Havaldars (constables) have to study under street lights due to the paucity of minimum amenities in their Hell-like one-room quarters.

Sanjay Pandey, IPS, DIG – Maharashtra State Reserve Police, especially talked about the police force has both, an organized and a disorganized process of collecting bribes that gets distributed amongst officials across the levels.

On the other hand, IPS Darapuri spoke about the ‘Danda’ investigation of the police which forces the innocent suspects to accept their ‘crime’. However, by law, the crime confessed by the criminals before the police is not admissible in court. But the main concern is that this torturous investigation results in untimely death of the suspects due to emotional and physical breakdown.

But the speakers did not overlook the cause behind this effect.

One of the clinical psychiatrists present amongst the audience threw light on the mental state of the police officials who resort to brutal measures on the general public and crime suspects. Such officials are victims of panic attack, depression, high BP and they shift to drinking to overcome this state but unfortunately lose their sanity. Some officers/constables even take their own lives to end their misery. Surprisingly, the state of police is no different than that of the criminals.

So basically, it is a vicious cycle of misery for them. But there is a solution for every problem and hence the attention was drawn towards the reforms that could sterile the rotting system in place currently.

Officer Peter Fahy working in the Manchester Police, UK, spoke about the benefits of performance based promotion which helps officers get a good understanding of ground realities. He also said that in the UK Police, every police official has to compulsorily start as a constable so that he gets to experience the ground reality from he very beginning. However, it is a completely opposite scenario as a constable does not get a chance to move beyond the Assistant Sub-Inspector level even in the 40 years of his service. Such unfair practices result in major divide between the officials across various ranks as they tend to despise the one ‘inferior’ to them in position. Citing example of the entry level criteria in the UK Police, the need to imbibe similar practices in the Indian Police recruitment system was iterated.

The discussion was wrapped up by focusing on the importance of the Janamaithri scheme launched in Kerala that helped implementing a people friendly policing style.

Satyamev Jayate!