Top brass pulls up socks after ACB says police department is the most corrupt in the state.
Top brass pulls up socks after ACB says police department is the most corrupt in the state
The latest report of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which names the police as the most corrupt government department in the state, has jolted senior officers in South Mumbai into action.
As a first step to clean up the force, police stations in the region have been ordered to clear their backlog of cases expeditiously. Some of the cases remain “under investigation” for years and suspects are harassed by being called to the police station often.
Charge sheets are delayed, sometimes for years, especially in cases where the accused are not under arrest. Policemen delay the filing of charges so that they can extort money from the people involved in the case. (Once a charge sheet is filed in a court of law, a policeman loses control over the matter. If a suspect is under arrest, charges have to be filed within 90 days of the arrest.)
Police stations have also been told to decide on complaint applications immediately, without calling the parties concerned on the pretext of conducting a “preliminary inquiry”. Such interviews often result in bribes to officers not to register the complaints.
Deputy commissioner of police (zone I) Brijesh Singh has told police stations in his area not investigate any matter without registering an offence, either as a non-cognisable complaint or a first information report. If an officer is unable to decide whether to register an offence, he can refer the matter to his superior. Every police station receives 15-20 complaints daily.
Pending cases and complaints are like ATMs for investigating officers, quipped an officer. Whenever they want money, they call to the police station those against whom complaints have been made. To escape such harassment, people pay bribes.
“It is illegal to call any party in the name of conducting a preliminary inquiry without first registering an offence,” Singh said. “I have made it clear to my officers that no inquiry or investigation should be done without registering an offence.”
Officers claimed the aim was to clear the backlog at the police stations and improve the efficiency of the force. “It is a routine exercise,” additional commissioner of police (southern region) K Venkatesham said. “If they have 50 cases to deal with, our aim is to reduce them to 20 or less.”
s_vijay@dnaindia.net
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