The attack on a police inspector on Sunday is testimony to the respect — or the lack thereof — for those who enforce the law.
T Madiyal and ST Ramesh, both retired DG and IGP of Karnataka, spoke to HM Chaithanya Swamy on whether the police force gets demoralised due to incidents such as Sunday’s when an IAS officer’s wife assaulted a woman police inspector over not being allowed entry through a gate. Retired top cops note that nobody has the right to assault police personnel and even if they are found at fault, there are procedures to bring them to book.
Excerpts of the interview:
How do you see such incidents demoralising the police force?
Madiyal: Such incidents should be handled strictly by senior police officers. Otherwise it is definitely a demoralising factor.
Ramesh: Such incidents demoralise the force. There is a rule of law, which applies for both the public and police. They should act according to the law. If the police have committed mistakes, there are procedures, including filing complaints against the errant policeman with senior police officers. But attacking the policemen is a bigger mistake. People should be aware that if the police get demoralised by such incidents and stop working altogether, they themselves will be suffering due to lawlessness.
What needs to be done to beef up the police forces morale?
Madiyal: A policeman on duty is an authority of the government. The policeman should do his duty according to the law. The public should respect that authority; nobody has the right to disrespect them. If they disrespect the authority, then it leads to demoralisation. They (the public) should realise that they themselves will be in trouble if the police lose their morale.
Ramesh: Senior officers should support their men to boost their morale when they are not at fault. If the morale is boosted, it is beneficial to the society as the policemen would work efficiently against the anti-social elements. Otherwise, they wonder whether taking risks while protecting the public against anti-social elements is worth it. Similarly, if the officer is found committing mistakes, they should, indeed, be punished. If the members of the public, who are influential, commit an offence against the police, it is the duty of the senior police officials to take a
call and take action against them.
Are such incidents because of poor impression being created about the police among the civil society members?
Madiyal: Nobody has the right to dilute the power of the authority on the spot. Sometimes, the police are indeed at fault. But if that is the case, the public should approach the senior police officials and complain against them.
Ramesh: Yes, civil society members and influential persons in society have a poor impression about the police.
They have the impression that nobody can do anything to them. They behave like this
in public places. They basically try to misuse the power they have.
Why does the public look down upon the police?
Madiyal: That is because they fail to realise what would be the consequences if the policemen are not on duty across the city for 24 hours. In cases like this, senior officers should ensure that FIRs are filed (against those assaulting policemen on duty) and also charge-sheet those who attack the authority in public.
Ramesh: No, the common man is not the one who looks down upon the policeman. It is only the VVIPs and influential people who do that. The common man respects the cop. But when senior police officers fail to take action against influential persons acting against the police, the common man, too, starts looking down upon the policeman.
The army and the police both have a noble duty. Then why is one perceived as nobler than the other?
Madiyal: The police deal with citizens, while the army deals with external enemies. There is no question of comparing which profession is nobler of the two. If the law is found to be inadequate to take action against those attacking policemen, then the government should enact special laws to deter those prone to attacking
policemen on duty in the future.
Ramesh: We should not compare the army and the police as there are a lot of differences in the objectives of both the forces. The army fights the country’s enemies, while the police serve the country’s
citizens.
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