The collective consciousness of Doonites was jolted this Tuesday, when news of two constables who had been blackmailing a couple in Dehra Dun broke. To recapitulate these two constables under a Dehra Dun Police Verification drive entered a room in THDC Colony to find a boy and girl eating lunch together. Sensing an opportunity and realising that the two were “not blood relations” the duo grilled them and even forced them to kiss while filming with a mobile! Then the saga of blackmail began first with a demand for Rs 3000/-, and when that was fulfilled another for Rs 5000/- or “the girl spend a night with them in a hotel”. The desperate boy sought help of a journalist, who photographed the police personnel with the money in the boy’s room and the story broke. Acting promptly the City SSP suspended and arrested the two policemen, who were later dismissed from service.
One question which needs to be answered is how two freshly recruited constables could muster enough courage to black mail people? Is corruption so rampant in our police force that even “freshers” are instantly drawn into it? Or were these two were corrupt even prior to joining the police force, in which case what happened to the police verification which is carried out before anyone joins the police force? Rumours abound of bribes being paid during police recruitments all over our Country. Could they be true in our State as well? In all probabilities, this was not the first bribe the duo accepted nor was it the first illegal act they committed. After all, such “courage” develops slowly and blackmailing cannot be the first “baby” step. In a Police Station is it someone’s responsibility to monitor policemen under him? Has he failed to perform his duty? Could he have failed in detecting other similar men under him? While dismissing and arresting erring constables is the first step, leaving their immediate superiors scot-free leaves the job half done and does nothing to prevent corruption in future. The saddest and perhaps the most indicative, part of the whole episode is the reaction of the peers of these two policemen. Instead of being aghast of the activities of their colleagues, there was widespread sympathy for them at being caught. The initial efforts of Patel Nagar Police Station to suppress the whole episode and later the VIP treatment given to the two accused; even allowing the father of one of them who is an ASI in the Fire Department in Doon, to escort them to court, shows widespread sympathy for the accused and not the victims. The treatment given to the victims in contrast is shocking. Police higher-ups need to explain the necessity for Police men to go to the victim’s room at 2 in the night to question him? Is this widespread sympathy for the accused an indicator of the corruption being accepted as a norm in Uttarakhand’s Police force? Can we deny that there is both internal corruption (money for “plum” postings and other favours) and external corruption in our police? From extracting “hafta” from the street vendors to blackmailing, our police seems to have it all. Probably only the blind or really dumb would miss the difference between the official income and assets of some of our men in khaki especially those in “plum” posts. Seen in the larger context, corruption in Police is a part of corruption which is all pervading in our society. After all, police men come from our society and therefore reflect its values. Effects of political interference, which is all too evident in Uttarakhand, have been well debated again and again. A quote of Mr. Tharakan, DGP Kerala at a recent Police Conference is worth mentioning: “In today’s India, the police is a victim of the political system just as much as the citizen is a victim of the police system” Unfortunately, tackling corruption has not been an area of interest for the Khanduri Government. Over the last two years, except for an occasional statement at a public rally, absolutely nothing has been done to reduce corruption in public life. Since our State Chief Minister also doubles up as the State Home Minister, he is all the more responsible for corruption in the police and thus his eerie silence on the whole issue is inexplicable. With as many as 27 ministries under his belt, including important ones like Finance and Home, it must be an effort for Gen. Khanduri, to spend as much time as he would like on each one of them. If such an incident had happened in Delhi, the Home Minister would have found it hard to evade a public response and questions from TV Channels. Fortunately for all, Dehra Dun is away from the electronic media glare and so a lot of things can be brushed under the carpet and simply ignored.
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