Police, the least friendly of Government departments

S. SHIVAKUMAR

SOON AFTER he took over, the Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, described the bulk of the Police force as ``rotten''. Five years later, as people prepare to vote their next set of elected representatives to office, do they have a reason to disagree with such a strong description?

With a poor public interface, the Police remains perhaps the least friendly of Government departments, for the common man. Yet, the run-up to the elections has seen few promises from the major parties to reform the Police system.

Civic issues dominate the campaign, though it is more in the domain of the local bodies. ``The problem faced by the public at police stations is an important issue'' agrees Mr. Vidiyal Sekar, TMC, pitted against the Chennai Mayor Mr. M. K. Stalin, in Thousand Lights. ``Even when we politicians go to lodge complaints, they are not accepted at police stations. You can imagine the plight of the common man'' he adds.

The campaign has brought no assurance for many like the 95-year- old year old, Mr. P. R. Subramanian, who was recently tossed about police stations for filing a complaint about his aged wife being duped by a conwoman at the Government General Hospital, simply on grounds of jurisdiction. Such a situation is common during both the AIADMK and DMK regimes.

While the less affluent dread to approach the Police for help, the middle-class resident must pull the strings to get a complaint accepted, even if only for record purposes like insurance claims.

House break-ins have become so common that city dwellers dread to go on vacation. Non-restoration of recovered properties to owners is another key issue, directly connected to the quality of policing and resultant judicial delays.

Despite station house officers being warned that FIR's should be registered promptly and a copy given to the complainant, this practice is rarely followed. Even in a recent case when a woman was allegedly assaulted by a Telephone department engineer, the Chintadripet police did not register the case immediately.

On an average, at least three house break-in's are reported in the city. A comparative study of the cases reported during the last ten years, when the AIADMK and the DMK were in power, reveals, on an average, about 250 cases remain unsolved every year. With police usually losing interest in pursuing cases after a period of time, the trauma for the family, which has lost, a kin is more with the fear that the culprits are roaming scot free.

For instance, 19 murders for gain of the 59 reported during the past ten years continue to remain unsolved.

The culprits behind the murder of a four-member family at Aminjikarai in September 1993, when the present DGP Dr.R.Rajagopalan was the then city police commissioner, continue to remain elusive. The murder of a housewife at Umayal Road in Kilpauk is not yet solved.

Yet, scientific approaches to policing has not claimed the attention of the politicians. Even the area of traffic management has not received much attention - in fact, the Chennai Police virtually dropped such steps as cameras for enforcement at intersections. Mobile ``interceptors'' were promised but not delivered.

``Blaming the police alone for their attitude is not correct'', observes Dr. A. Chellakumar, TMC candidate for Villivakkam. ``They are forced to collect money from persons doing illegal business to meet expenditure of about Rs. 5000 which is required for detaining one person under the Goondas Act. This would not happen if the Government sanctions the funds'', he says. Ironically, such issues have not found a place in the agenda of political fronts.

A few candidates and Chennai Corporation councillors feel that the situation will not change unless people take proactive steps. The police stations and the entire machinery exist for the people and hence it was the responsibility of the people to ensure that this works for them. ``The affected can always approach the next level if they are not treated properly. Then there is the Commissioner, the DGP, the Home Secretary and the Chief Minister himself,'' one of them said.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Medical service centre opened
Next     : T. Rajender finds the goings tough