The National Capital currently has 187 police stations and a force which has a sanctioned strength of more than 85,000 making it one of the largest metropolitan forces of the world.
Much to the relief of Indian government, the 69th Independence Day passed without a major incident, yet for the Delhi police department, which has been responsible for the security preparations of 15 August, it seems to be an uphill journey.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on August 11, informed the parliament that the union government has not released any funds to introduce the concept of SMART or Model Police Stations in the country.Neither has the government any proposal to take up infrastructural facilities under the Non-plan component of Modernisation of Police Force (MPF) scheme as was done under the Scheme prior to 2012-13.
This is after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November last year he wanted a force which takes care of the country’s law and order in an efficient and SMART manner.
While the MHA announcement is not exactly a pleasant one for police forces in Union Territories and other states of India, for the Delhi police it might be an even more serious issue due to the fact that it has been dragged time and again into political battle between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party government.
The National Capital currently has 187 police stations and a force which has a sanctioned strength of more than 85,000 making it one of the largest metropolitan forces of the world. The increasing crime rate however has provided a great challenge for the force which has been battling for an image makeover following the brutal gang-rape of a physiotherapy student in 2012.
The same year a National Crime Records Bureau report said out of 61,765 complaints filed against cops across India, the highest, which is 22% (12,805 cases),were registered in Delhi.
A senior police officer told dna that the force has been trying to do the best with whatever means are available to them. "Still on an average each police station has around 500 cases whose investigation is pending," the officer added.
The officer said that according the higher ups of the police force, an addition of 30,000 officers can do wonders for the National Capital which is increasingly becoming infamous for the crime rate.
Take for instance the case of Vasant Vihar police station in South Delhi, where the FIR over the December 16 gang rape incident was registered. The station strength is 174 as opposed to 144 currently posted there. Molestation cases here rose from 17 in 2014 to 50 in 2015 till April 15, while incidents of rape increased from nine to 15. Officials told dna that while reporting of incidents is generally seen as a positive sign, it is also important to have investigating officers who could give their '100%' while probing the cases.
"We have 8-10 sub inspectors in police stations. They serve as IO's and have been doing a great job but that doesn't change the fact that they are over worked. In my police station alone, each IO is handling over 100 cases at a time and ideally the number should be not more than 10," said SHO Hari Nagar Bhaskar Sharma who recently led a team which successfully nabbed two inmates that had escaped from Tihar jail.
"Smart policing is a good idea but for that you need to have enough police officers first," another police officer told dna.
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