Around 3 am, on May 22, a 72-year-old resident of Saket D block was feeling unwell. With his children settled abroad, he could do nothing but dial his beat officer's number to seek help. Within minutes, ASI Praveen Kumar from Saket police station reached the elderly man's residence and admitted him at a hospital in the ICU. The elderly man was later shifted to the general ward after his condition improved.
Around 3 am, on May 22, a 72-year-old resident of Saket D block was feeling unwell. With his children settled abroad, he could do nothing but dial his beat officer's number to seek help. Within minutes, ASI Praveen Kumar from Saket police station reached the elderly man's residence and admitted him at a hospital in the ICU. The elderly man was later shifted to the general ward after his condition improved.
Be it escorting elderly to the bank for cash withdrawals or hospitals for medical check-ups, or tracing "bad characters" in crime prone stretches to ensure safety, a Delhi police beat officer is the first responder to any situation on the ground. They act as the police force's eyes and ears, an essential but hectic job that can leave you physically and mentally shattered.
Forty three-year-old Assistant Sub Inspector Praveen Kumar, currently posted at Saket Police station, is a case in point. Kuamr gets time to visit his family in Palwal, Haryana, once a week. But the pressure of his job is such that he leaves Delhi around 11 pm after winding up his work and has to return to by 7 am the next morning.
"When we are at work, food and sleeps come last. By 9 am all the beat officers have to attend a briefing by the SHO (Station House Officer) at their respective police stations. After this, we analyse all the PCR calls received from our beats in the past 24 hours and list of those cases which require following up, is prepared.
"The rest of the day passes mostly in tenant or servant verification, attending banks and hospitals, serving summons and warrants, tracing the wanted criminals of the area and watching their movements closely, group patrolling and serving overnight emergency duties," Kumar said.
A beat officer starts his day with no idea when it will end. In times of emergency, shifts can stretch to more than 48 hours. Senior officers say that every beat has one Assistant Sub Inspector, heading one Head Constable and two Constables. However, depending upon the requirements, according to the area's demand, the number of subordinates can be increased, the officer said.
Amidst all this running around, keeping surveillance, attending courts and maintaining health becomes a major challenge. "We usually don't get time for lunch. If we do, we try to wrap up as fast as we can. At the same time we need to keep us fit and going. A minute wasted creates a backlog of work. Ours is a market area and therefore keeping a close watch on everyone gets tough during the festive seasons. We have our own sources who help us and then the 'eyes and ears' scheme has helped a lot," said ASI Ved Prakash and Head Constable Rajinder Kumar, who are in charge of Malviya Nagar market.
Dealing with problems ranging from helping the elderly to crime, to even quarrels within households, a beat cop is truly a necessary but often exhausted man. It remains to be seen just how one can motivate these men to keep giving their best to the Capital's citizens.
Covering the beat
Delhi is divided into 13 police districts which are further divided into over 180 police stations
Police station areas are divided into beats to ensure better surveillance
Number of beats vary depending upon need and on how widespread the area is
Each beat is headed by an ASI accompanied by head constables and constables
Number of officers may also vary depending on nature of the beat
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