Bengaluru: Cops refuse to file techie’s theft plaint

Bengaluru: Contrary to Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwar’s diktat that policemen should be courteous to the people who approach them to file complaints, cops continue to behave rudely with the general public.

Recently, the Electronic City police shooed away an IT professional, Nishant Mishra working with HCL, who wanted to file a complaint on the theft of two laptops and two mobile phones from his flat on Hosur Road on December 31 morning. The police officer on duty at the Electronics City police station refused to file the complaint, saying, “This is not the UK or US where you will come with CCTV footage and we start running behind him. This is India! Here things work differently.”

Nishant told Deccan Chronicle, “I had recently moved into the apartment with five other flat mates. On December 31, I and my roommate went out to buy milk. As another of our roommate was fast asleep and it was time for the domestic help to come, we didn’t lock the door. But when we returned, our roommate was frantically searching for his laptop and mobile phone. Two laptops and mobile phones had been stolen.”

He said, “We rushed to the security room at the apartment and saw the video footage of the thief. I called the Electronics City police station, and a police officer, Nagesh, arrived at the spot. He showed us a photo from the Whatsapp group and we immediately recognised him as the man we saw on the video footage. Mr Nagesh told us that the man was a notorious burglar, who has been escaping arrest for the past one-and-a-half years.”

“As Nagesh asked us to file a complaint, I approached the Whitefield police station. I showed the video footage and the photograph of the thief to the police officer on duty and narrated him the incident. But he told me, ‘This is not the UK or USA where you will come with CCTV footage to the police and we will start running after the thief. This is India! Here things work differently. The chances of you getting back your belongings are bleak. What if the thief has crossed the state border by now and is traced in other state like Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh? Even if he is caught, who will go there to recover your two laptops and two mobile phones? The city police have lot of work. Do you understand? Now go from here, we will let you know if we get any leads,” Nishant added.

A senior police officer told Deccan Chronicle, “I will immediately look into the matter and ensure that the police extend all possible help to the complainant. I will personally look into the case.”