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Meritorious past, imperfect present and uncertain future of Mumbai Police

Mumbai Police seem to have reached a stage of no redemption. Baljeet Parmar lists the circumstances that led to the fall of the public institution.

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Battered and beleaguered, Mumbai Police seem to have reached a stage of no redemption. Unbridled corruption, rampant political interference and utter lack of motivation present a dismal picture of a constabulary that was once synonymous with integrity and meritorious performance. Baljeet Parmar lists the circumstances that led to the fall of a public institution that once stood alongside the Scotland Yard

The glorious past

Time was when Mumbai Police enjoyed the reputation of being second only to the Scotland Yard. Today, it is a depleted and spent force. The degeneration did not happen overnight. The malaise had started seeping in the agency long back with a string of disturbing symptoms.   

The force charted a glorious peak during the early eighties when ‘Supercop’ Julio Rebeiro led the charge. With an enviable success in detection rate, it’s Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) cracked even the toughest of cases —  serial killings, gruesome murders, daylight bank robberies, terror activities even while juggling VIP movements, labour strikes and morchas.

The networking and the hierarchy in the department then was much different. The 33 police stations, six zones, 18,000 policemen and officers were enough to man a city under those circumstances. There were no additional or joint commissioners. The entire crime branch was run by a Senior Inspector of Police under the guidance of an Assistant Commissioner and a Deputy Commissioner of Police. There were no mobile phones or GPS-fitted mobile vans. But the force ran like a well oiled machine.

Charge of the brigade

Better coordination and motivation ensured that despite being under-staffed and ill-equipped compared to present-day standards, the police were able to lay their hands on notorious international criminals like Charles Shobhraj, underworld dons Vardarajan Mudaliar, Karim Lala and Haji Mastan, to name a few. The detection rate was an admirable over 80 per cent and the citizens had a healthy respect for the men in khaki.

Hands-on Ribeiro led from the front and gave the impression of a man firmly in the saddle. He was a father figure to his men and officers. He knew and addressed every  inspector by his first name. He knew their strengths and weaknesses, and, allotted them postings depending on their capabilities rather than the extraneous reasons that have became the criteria in the recent years.

What endeared Rebeiro to his juniors was his sense of fair play. He reprimanded them when they erred was also open in his admiration when they excelled. His motto was “Take them along and they will deliver.” Outside his department, he interacted with the common man, held public durbars for families of cops and handled media pressure. He brooked no political and bureaucratic interference. If officers like YC Pawar were able to prove their mettle, it was because Rebeiro stood behind them like a rock.

Not the one to be dictatorial, Rebeiro was open to suggestions and always looked to improvement. His working was a true reflection of the dictum that a team is only as good as it’s leader and the results the force achieved during his tenure were a testimony.

Disciplined cadres

Then, the Mumbai Police could be identified with a synergy. Senior Inspectors in-charge of their respective police stations had spent most of the time in the city after joining as sub inspectors. So they knew the city like the back of their hand. The extensive beat system was in place and the police knew the pulse of the city. The deputy commissioners were all young Indian Police Service (IPS) officers from outside the city and therefore, free from prejudices and preconceived biases. They took orders from their boss and reported back to him. The offices of all senior officers were open to public.

Grievances got a patient hearing and unlike the present scenario, the police vibed well with people and media.

And then the rot began to set in. Top police officers began to pander to their political masters to grab plum posts. Investigators became encounter specialists, the police headquarters turned into a fortress where common man dreaded to enter. Senior inspectors brought from outside, thought of city as a godsend to fill their pockets. With the result that constabulary delivered like an addled egg.

Heavy at the top

With the upgradation of several posts, the force became top-heavy. The crime branch was saddled with a joint commissioner, two additional commissioners, four deputy commissioners and several assistant commissioners. The job which a senior inspector performed single-handed, is now being handled by two deputy commissioners.

The top-heavy structure rendered the lower rung officers virtually redundant. All decisions are taken at the top and then forced on the juniors for implementation. The cardinal principle of sharing information and responsibility took a beating and the detection and investigation mechanism suffered erosion. Those who raised their voice  or well-intentioned concerns with the establishment were shunted. This brought in a dangerous feeling of insecurity and frustration in the subordinates. The team work which the force once prided on, declined and began to look like a motley band. The morale hit the nadir.

The big turning point

The worst schism happened post Babri Masjid demolition riots of 1992. The complete intelligence failure to anticipate the violence in its aftermath further shook the already demoralised force. But the knock out punch came in the form of serial bomb blasts. Not only was the city’s social fabric torn asunder, it pulled the rug from under a chief minister’s feet. The police commissioner was unceremoniously removed and many officers were relieved from their jobs.

The arrival of Amarjeet Singh Samra in the aftermath of the upheaval brought a new ray of hope for the battered city police force. Like Ribeiro, Samra too took some harsh decisions to put the force back on rails. He shunted out the incompetent, axed the corrupt and promoted the efficient. Within days, the force became proactive to get vital leads and cracked the conspiracy case. Defying political pressure, Samra met the press every day to provide an update on the investigations. In two years, the force seemed to have found it’s moorings again.

The Telgi stigma

The enormousness of the Telgi scam set the force against the clock. Samra did his best to get cracking, but his efforts came to a nought with the callous approach of the seniors. Touching an abysmal depth, the force washed dirty linen in public. Several IPS and junior officers were arrested for their alleged involvement in the scam. Thanks to an aggressive media posturing, there were long footages and tell tale pictures of police officers in handcuffs. The keepers of law shamed the entire force. A case of fence eating the farm.

Now, the force is under tremendous pressure. The media keeps breathing down it’s neck. The courts are severe on them and the political class forever looks at it as a convenient scapegoat.

A section of the conscientious officialdom feels the need of the hour is strong and credible leadership, better interaction between seniors and juniors, delegation of powers and responsibilities, reaching out to the public to win back their confidence and finally, to keep political interference at bay.

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