Once bitten, never try! Their projection as the villains in the Rizwanur Rahman suicide case has demoralised Kolkata Police so much
The voluntary counselling centre was established by Kolkata Police six years ago in 2002 to help couples facing marital discordKOLKATA: Once bitten, never try! Their projection as the villains in the Rizwanur Rahman suicide case has demoralised Kolkata Police so much, that they have shut down Seva, the voluntary matrimonial counselling cell started by the CID.
Seva died an unceremonious death on its sixth anniversary last month after the CID's additional director general Bhupinder Singh ordered its closure.
Though no official reason has been given, CID sleuths admitted Seva was closed after no one was willing to volunteer for the service, out of fear of being tainted at a later stage.
While the pressure groups are adamant that resolving matrimonial issues is not police jurisdiction, legal brains feel closure of the cell is not a good sign when the incidence of divorce is rising. Beneficiary couples too lament the shutdown.
Started in 2002, the cell would handle average around 450 cases of marital discord a year with the help of NGOs and marriage counsellors and resolve around 55% of them. It would organise counselling sessions for couples with experts in the presence of CID representatives.
CID sleuths feel the high success rate of the cell was because most couples did not know the concept of marriage counselling. According to a CID officer, to most of them police were the only remedy.
"Couples would approach the cell with complaints against each other but got back home understanding the need for mutual cooperation after sessions with marriage counsellors. But we cannot take the risk any more. If a couple is not satisfied with our voluntary service, it could hold us responsible for whatever happens thereafter," he said.
Renowned criminal and human rights lawyer Kaushik Gupta agreed that police were projected in such bad light in the Rizwanur episode, that their moral was bound to suffer.
"Therefore, police cannot be blamed for discontinuing the voluntary social service which they are not legally bound to do. But my advice to them is that in future if couples with matrimonial problems approach them, instead of turning them away, they should direct them to a marriage counsellor," he said.
Romila Mukherjee (name changed) recalls how CID officers associated with Seva helped her revive her almost-broken marriage. "I approached the police with the sole intention of registering a complaint against my husband. But the officer-in-charge guided me to Seva. After I contacted them, they called my husband and me for a meeting with counsellors where Seva representatives were also present. We understood our mistakes and are since happily staying together," she said.
r_sumanta@dnaindia.net 
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