Lal Krishna Advani, BJP veteran and former Deputy Prime Minister of India, famously said once about the media during 1975 emergency that it just crawled when it was merely asked to bend. The same holds true for most of the Punjab Police officials at the moment. Within a month the Punjab Police had to face second embarrassment with Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala, Varun Sharma proceeding on leave.
Last month the Election Commission of India suspended the Tarn Taran SSP following complaints of indiscriminate FIRs against the Opposition workers, particularly those belonging to Akali Dal. Two district police chiefs getting removed and replaced within a month really does not reflect well on the police.
The SSP Patiala proceeded on leave ahead of the hearing in an audio clip case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The purported clip reportedly contains the SSP’s directions to his junior staff as to how to prevent the Opposition candidates from filling the nomination papers for the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections. The Punjab Police has claimed that the audio was generated through artificial intelligence.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the Central Forensic Science Laboratory to probe whether the audio clip actually contains the voice of the SSP or it was fake and generated through AI. While the truth will eventually come out, the fact remains that the Punjab Police has badly suffered in the perception battle. Irrespective of what comes out of the CFSL probe, on the ground everything that is contained in the audio clip happened not just in Patiala but all over Punjab.
This newspaper has consistently maintained that while the ruling Aam Aadmi Party has extensively used the police against its political opponents, particularly during the elections, it is not the first one to do that. This has been happening in Punjab for a long time.
Also read: Who will police the police in Punjab?
Every regime, whether that of the Akalis or Congress before the AAP, did the same thing what the AAP is doing today. Police officers at positions of SHOs and DSPs in the police sub-divisions are made to report to the local political bosses like the ruling party MLAs or those in charge of the constituency where there is no ruling party MLA.
When the line of command is broken and the SHOs, DSPs and SSPs owe their posting to the goodwill of their political bosses instead of merit, such things are natural. Since the current case and the earlier one in Tarn Taran were linked to elections, these came to the public notice and investigation and action were initiated. It is anybody’s guess whether the common man can expect justice under such circumstances.
Police high handedness and brutalities are becoming more frequent and common across the country. When police officers go “out of the way” to oblige their political masters, they expect reciprocal patronage and protection and they do get it. Slapping false FIRs, framing people in false cases under serious sections of law like the NDPS is not uncommon. Only recently there was a report from Madhya Pradesh as how a youth was framed for drug peddling. Such cases are not exceptions but are dangerously becoming a rule.
While in Punjab it is often said the misuse of powers by police started during the militancy era. But it is actually a colonial legacy when the police were there to enforce the foreign rule. Not much seems to have changed. You are safe and lucky only as long as you do not have to face it. This must change. There must be zero tolerance with severe punishment for any police indiscipline, high handedness and excesses. But sadly that is not the case right now.
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