Mumbai police new rule: Safety, signed and delivered

In order to have stricter control over its foot soldiers the police are making them sign acknowledgements of the basic instructions of the deployment given to them by seniors.

Officials say this will help them holding the concerned people accountable if anything goes wrong, as they will have not have valid excuses.

The officials said that the changes were brought in after it was observed that in absence of unclear instructions in writing, police personnel deployed for bandobast would routinely move away from the spot or would stay together chatting, unmindful of the happenings around them.

“We are noting their mobile numbers so that when a senior needs to talk to them directly, it can be done easily instead of banking upon wireless channels”, said Pratap Dighavkar, deputy commissioner of police (zone IX).

The tenth day of Ganpati is considered to be the most hectic day for the Mumbai police. Holidays and leave of the over 44,000 strong police force are cancelled so that they can man the streets and immersion sites. “It is nothing but better policing”, adds DCP Dighavkar.

Officials said the new system will be used in all future police bandobasts, combing operations, patrols and other police activities. “This will improve the productivity of the police force, making it more streamlined,” said a senior police official.