How safe would you feel knowing there is one policeman for every 4,200 citizens in Mumbai? Latest police department statistics show just that: a worrisome police to population ratio of 1:4200.
The ideal police to population ratio recommended by the UN is 1:400. However, while the state government has sanctioned recruitment of around 11,000 personnel for the Mumbai police over the next five years, it, surprisingly, has several departments, with valuable personnel, lying defunct for years now. The police officers posted at these departments just report to work and go back home, wasting valuable manpower and time. DNA takes a look at some of these departments:
Special operation squad
The department was formed by the then Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Arvind Inamdar in 1987 to tackle the menace of gang-wars that riddled the city in those days. The team comprising 20 sub-inspectors and 25 constables functioned under a police inspector attached to the crime branch. The personnel were specially trained in karate and judo and in handling sophisticated arms. Police personnel inducted into the team drew a salary one-and-a-half times higher than normal. This team was formed to enter into Arun Gawli’s Dagdi chawl, Dawood Ibrahim’s Temkar Mohalla at Nagpada and Chhota Rajan’s Tilak Nagar. During combing operations, they had to overpower notorious gangsters who moved around with 9 mm pistols and other lethal weapons.
However, over the years the SOS got sidelined. Now, the team has a senior police inspector, two inspectors, six to seven sub-inspectors and 20 to 25 constables, under the additional commissioner of police (crime) operating from a barrack at the police headquarters. They are not included in any major operation. They were not even called during the recent terror attack on November 26, 2008, said a crime branch officer on condition of anonymity.
Pathan branch
This department was formed during the British Era by the Mumbai police under the Special Branch CID. The department, then comprising several inspectors and constables, was meant to tackle the Afghan money-lenders who were a menace. Today, the department has just two constables.
After 1920, people from the Pathan community from Afghanistan started moving to Mumbai to settle down here. They were money lenders who loaned to poor textile mill workers and police constables and charged exorbitant interest rates. The Pathans’ money-lending business is still known as ‘Pathani vyaj’ (Panthan’s interest) in Mumbai. On salary day, these Pathans would stake out the gate of the textile mill or police station to collect interest. Anyone who refused to pay would see their entire salaries snatched and they would be bashed up or assaulted with knives or swords. Even police constables were not spared. Fearing attacks, most policemen who took loans from Pathans, would remain absent from duty. This adversely affected the efficiency of the Mumbai police back then.
So severely did it affect the Mumbai police functioning that Sir Patrick Kelly, the then DCP, got personally involved in the case. He formed the Pathan Branch, where policemen had to keep tabs on the movement of these Pathans.
Today, with not many Pathan money-lenders around, the Pathan
branch has become defunct, yet it continues to have personnel who have an office at Shivaji Market building under the DCP (Enforcement) of Mumbai police, said an officer.
Tada cell
The TADA Cell was formed in 1987 by the then Mumbai Police Commissioner D S Soman. The cell was formed with the aim of dealing with TADA-related cases and those accused under it. The cell has investigated the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case,masterminded by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar. The cell, which is situated in one of the barracks at the Mumbai Police Commissionerate at Crawford Market, was responsible for maintaining records of TADA accused. In 2002, five years after the TADA Act lapsed, the cell started working with Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA) cases. Two years later, POTA was scrapped and the cell has since been maintaining records of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) cases.
The cell comprises a police officer and two constables.
“There is practically no work for officers in this cell, as they cannot investigate cases, and only maintain records. There are plans to merge the cell with the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Mumbai Crime Branch,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.
Special task force
STF was constituted in August 2000 as a prosecuting agency in riots cases. Today, the STF comprises a DCP, an assistant commissioner, two senior police inspectors, two police inspectors, 16 police sub-inspectors and 56 constables operating from with its office in the Esplanade Court compound,. It functions under the Mumbai Crime Branch.
An officer from the branch said, “Our team was formed with the aim of monitoring riots-related cases post the Babri Masjid demolition, and to ensure proper investigations were carried out by local police stations in such cases. Today, riots-related cases are handled by local police stations.”
The profile of this branch has changed a great deal over the past few years. Recently, Crime Branch Control and Sales Tax Cells were placed under the STF. With the addition of these two cells, the STF’s main job now is to bust milk adulteration and spurious oil rackets in the city.
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