Within a month of taking charge as joint commissioner of police (law and order), senior IPS officer Deven Bharti faces the unenviable task of rebuilding the confidence of the Mumbai police, which was shaken to its core after the Vakola firing incident. The incident brought to light the stress, frustration and anger within the police force. Bharti has to his credit the detection of several high profile cases like the 26/11 terror attacks and senior journalist J. Dey's murder case. Bharti was even instrumental in breaking the backbone of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM). He will now have to bring in all his experience to remove the rot within the police force. In a free-wheeling interview with dna's Nikhil S. Dixit, Bharti spoke about how he plans to police the Mumbai police.
What ails the Mumbai police today?
There are several aspects; long duty hours, long and strenuous commute to work, irregular and late working hours, not getting proper and timely meals. The government is coming out with various schemes which will help in eliminating these long working hours. It will be difficult to go in for 8-hour shifts right away as that would involve a huge manpower cost. The emphasis has to be on the quality of the force. If the policeman is technically equipped, if he is trained in various skills, it can work as a force multiplier. If one constable is good at investigation, interrogation skills and handling law and order situation, he will be more useful than three or four constables put together. So that will be our emphasis.
What was the main trigger for the Vakola incident?
The incident highlighted the fact that there is definitely a communication gap between the seniors and their sub-ordinates.
What steps are being taken to tackle the problem?
I have issued a circular instructing all DCPs to spend the first half of every day in police stations, police chowkies, meeting the officials and meeting citizens. These interactions will give them an idea of what is happening on the ground in their jurisdiction.
But there are rotten eggs in the force itself, aren't there?
The issue is of policing the police. You are aware of some of the incidents like the Saki Naka rape case that have hit the police force. When we were informed about the case, the commissioner of police and I decided that we should take a firm action against the police officers involved. You know – the more powerful the engine of the car is, the more powerful brake is required.
What are the important changes that need to be made?
It is time to revisit the police manual. Policemen only need to follow the IPC, CrPC and police manual in its letter and spirit, everything else will fall in place. The effort is to make every police station a microcosm of the entire Mumbai police. Whatever you expect from the Mumbai police should be delivered at every police station. That is our aim.
The common man is scared to enter a police station.
I tell my senior police officers that if they can send their wife, daughter, sister or mother to a police station in the night, and feel confident that she will get proper treatment, then and only then should they think that their police station has achieved something.
The police are also guilty of making random arrests.
The public are not aware about their rights as far as arrests are concerned. I have told the police stations to go strictly by the guidelines given in the criminal procedure code (CrPC) and the supreme court judgments. Arrest is a power which gives scope to malpractices in the police force. It must be exercised very judiciously. In serious offences like dacoity, robbery, rape and murder, they should definitely take immediate firm action and arrest the suspect. But there are many other cases where there is scope for reaching conclusive evidence before making an arrest. The DCPs have to give an order in writing for approval of the arrest; they have to list the reasons for which the arrest is essential. Only when these two conditions are satisfied should an arrest be made.