THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mridu Bhave Dhrida Krutye.
This Sanskrit sloka meaning ‘Soft in Temperament, Firm in Action’ is the motto of the Kerala Police. But a series of incidents over last few weeks testify that it is restricted to words when it comes to protecting life and property of the people. A teenage girl missing complaint, a ten-year-old girl found hanging, the death of two sisters, vigilantes attacking couples in police presence, sexual assault on an actor in Kochi city and sitting for months on an autopsy report confirming sexual abuse are a few instances. Even Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had to admit in the state assembly that the police had erred in Shiv Sena moral policing on young couples on Kochi Marine Drive promenade. A couple of his cabinet colleagues also admitted lapses. Protests by outfits of the ruling coalition partners in front of police stations have become a common sight. Experts cite a host of issues for this poor, rather frightening, state of affairs, that too in the first year of a government that came to power with a thumping majority on the promise of better policing.
DC discusses some of the prominent issues that need urgent attention.
Effective Deterrence
With punitive actions limited to suspensions and recommendations of the State Police ComplaInts Authority (SPCA) remaining on papers, there is a lack of deterrence. Though there are legal provisions for harsh punishments, including termination of service in case of serious dereliction of duty, they remain only on papers. “Even as the Supreme Court had ruled that the SPCA’s orders to the government are binding on the police, they often try to bypass it with parallel probes to spare offenders. Action on directives is rare,” said SPCA chairperson Justice Narayana Kurup. He also cited the custodial death of Sreejev in Parassala police custody in May 2014. Even as the authority ordered action against officers, the police ordered a fresh probe.
Should be made accountable
Despite having a strong chain of command right from the minister holding the home portfolio, these incidents reflect a lack of accountability in the absence of active steps. “Instead of making officers at the bottom scapegoats with punishments like suspensions, superiors should be held accountable for lapses,” a senior IPS officer said on the condition of anonymity. “Policing should not be considered as a 10-to-5 job. It requires round the clock commitment. Each and every personnel should be given professional training on a regular basis.”
Effective Supervision
District police chiefs are supposed to hold conferences every month to review the progress of sensitive cases. If that process went effectively, the death of a ten-year-old in Kundara in Kollam after multiple sexual assaults would not have swept under the rug for over two months. Police stations are the primary level of policing, and law and order of an area largely depend on their effectiveness, which could be ensured only through tight supervision from higher-ups, experts say.
“There were days when we used to get frightened on getting calls from senior officers from headquarters on even minor issues in our locality. Even if we fail to inform them any incident, they will ring up on getting reports from media or other sources. I don’t know whether those type of effective monitoring is happening these days,” said a retired senior IPS officer.
Police brings out Pulsar Suni from the magistrate’s residence in Aluva.
Independence in action
In a democracy, one could not expect the police force entirely free from political interventions. But there has been allegations that the political interventions were crossing the limits. Local political parties are trying to influence them even in investigation of a crime. The delay in action on the unnatural death of an 11-year-old girl in Walayar was even allegedly due to political connections of the suspects. It even led to the death of her nine-year-old sister after 52 days.
The political influence on transfer and postings is also evident from the fact that highly corrupt officers, especially in DySP and circle inspector ranks, got postings in key positions, police sources point out. “There are even pressures on police from police association leaders and local politicians on matters like adjusting duty time,” said an officer.
A vigilant political leadership
The law and order situation of a state is a key benchmark in determining the performance of a government. It is for that reason that the home portfolio is considered important and often chief ministers themselves keep it. But they are busy with too many things, and hence they act upon advice from key aides. “It is often felt that Mr Vijayan is not properly getting briefed on the gravity of the series of lapses. Even as he had to admit in the assembly that there was a failure on the part of the police, no effective corrective measures are visible. The latest was in dealing with the complaint of a teenage girl’s missing. It shows his strongly worded statements on effective policing are not going down the line in its spirit,” a retired IPS officer commented.
