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It was a great update provided by silkboard on the subject of Police Reforms! The links provided very use full information on Police functioning and the need for reforms, in the Police force. However these would take their own course and time, as they are obviously not in our direct control. The issue is to identify positive course of action to improve the quality of life in Bangalore, with the existing/current state of affairs, to start with. I agree that there is a need for public opinion buildup against delay in much needed Police reforms. Praja has provided an excellent platform towards this. We are definitely not in to journalism. Well said silkboard.

The common man should be made  aware that Police cannot refuse to register FIR without a valid reason. Next time if the need comes one has to take the assistance of a capable lawyer to get the FIR registered. Senior Police officers of IPS cadre who are well educated will definitely like to be identified with the honest common man when he is on the right side of the law. If I think about it, there is no reason for any person in the Police force, not to be with the law abiding Common Man.

 

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However these would take their own course and time, as they are obviously not in our control

Ananth sir, one reason those big sounding reforms are pending is - it's not a subject under central governmnet control. State's have to work with center on them. Second reason - there isn't enough public awareness and pressure.

We have to do whatever we can to increase the awareness around those pending reforms. What we get entirely depends on our awareness levels and expectations. Nobody other than "us" has greater interest in making these subjects popular - media is mostly happy selling stings and scams, netas are busy doing what we project to be the most imporatnt thing, (they don't have time for it all), and most of middle class is happy making money and leading cozy lives in its "shells". Sorry, I overdid that ;)

Next time we organize a Praja meeting with a police officer, lets remember to ask their opinions on these pending reforms. I think nobody will say things on-the-record, but we will still ask and try.

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SB - you have provoked me into partly breaking a promise I made to a freind not to bring up the story involving his son into the open, since amongst other things he is afraid it will affect the son's marriage prospects. And, mind you, that's no laughing matter in the Indian context. I have therefore deliberately brought in a few inaccuracies to mask it as far as possible, even though the essence remains as it is. Here it goes:

While non-registration of FIRs is serious enough an issue, high-handedness on the part of police officials is also an equally serious matter. I know of a certain instance in the recent past when two young executives, working for a multi-national, were roughed up by a constable, and, on top of it all, charged under Sec 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), and sent to jail for two full days.

They were, to begin with, victims of a hit & run incident, which occured on a 2nd Friday morning on the way to their work place. The constable, who was not far from the scene, instead of helping them out of their predicament, started abusing them for no reason at all. One of the boys then took a picture of the constable using his phone camera. Fearing that they may be intending to lodge a complaint against him, he went on the offensive, roughed them up, called a HOYSALA, and bundled them off to the nearest police station. In the process, he injured a finger, and used it to charge the boys under Sec 332. When the father of one of the boys arrived on the scene, the constable and his colleagues started various games in order to try and extract the maximum money out of him. With his not being quite familiar with the game, the cops deliberately delayed the process of presenting the boys before the court, leading eventually to their being remanded to judicial custody. And, being a 2nd Friday, the father could manage to engage a lawyer and get them out on bail only on the following Monday, the next working day.

After spending nearly a lakh so far on lawyers, and on 'mamools' (not small sums as the name would suggest) in the police station, court, and jail, the families are now left to fight a difficult court battle against the police who know best how to load the case in their favour. It's a lose-lose proposition all the way. A high profile lawyer could possibly get them out of it. But, he comes with a heavy price tag. That's the prospect they are faced with today in order to ensure that the boys' careers are not jeopardised in any way.

I had heard of such stories during the emergency, way back in the seventies. But, this was in January '08 Bangalore.

The boys' experience in Prapana Agrahara jail is something one of them is planning to write a book on after he recovers from the trauma, which is haunting him and his colleague and the respective families, even today.

Muralidhar Rao

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Murali sir - sad story indeed. I am very tempted to write a story (from a very close source) involving CBI and a High Court Judge. But I won't, and will keep it off the record, and share next time we meet.

I think Praja is still small for this kind of thing, but let me ask. How many will be game to organize our first street event - an "awareness rally" to increase urgency towards police reforms?

When you say "infrastructure", most people think roads, power or water. Law and Order is a basic component of 'infrastructure', its the enabler for all. However, I am often surprised to see (foreign press does it more often) law and order (legal system actually, not law and order) being mentioned as an okay point of our country. You don't see as much talk on law and order in intellectual party gossip as well, I think its because compared to things like roads and traffic, most of us don't get to "directly" deal with enforcement systems. Other reason could be that its a sensitive subject to work on, and many have fears driven by the perception drawn by the movies.

We don't have to get into discussing whats wrong, or get into the territory of human rights, police atrocities etc. We just need to drive the point that reforms are due, and due very urgently. Lets check with GoK on what they think of this urgency. May be, may be, that they'll tell us that things aren't as bad as movies or stray incidents show them to be, perhaps they will have good and so-far-unknown stats to share. But lets try and ask.

Doable? Risky business?

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This one about FIRs aside, there are two potentially game-changing things waiting to happen. We are not into journalism here, but these are important things for folks to be aware of.

Initiating from a case known as "Prakash Singh and Others Vs Union of India", Supreme Court had laid down some directives in late 2006. These included:

• a State Security Commission to ensure that the state government does not exercise unwarranted influence or pressure on the police ...
• ... Minimum tenure of two years for DGP ... SP in-charge of a district, and Station House Officers in-charge of a police station
• a Police Establishment Board, which will decide all transfers, postings, promotions and other service related matters of police officers ... and make recommendations on postings and transfers of officers.
• independent Police Complaints Authorities at the state and district levels to look into public complaints against police officers

Notice the attempts to free police from state government's 'influences', and the last one (Complaints Authority) to give people some escape route. Personally, based on the shallow reading that I have done, I feel the last one is not needed if all else is done right. Police itself is the Complaints Authority for us. Lets fix it, why have another one on top? What if the new Compliant Authority doesn't function well, will we again need another one on top!?

Next and not to mix it up with above, in 2005, GoI had setup what is popularly called Soli Sorabjee committee to draft Model Police act. This committee submitted a report in late 2006, but futher action is awaited.

These are important things to be aware of. Google and read more at leisure. Here is how I have been enlightening myself:

• Find this draft Model Police Act at PUCL website.
• Nice Indiatogether article on Police Reforms from Kathyayini Chamaraj
  
• Infochange article on Police Reforms from Navaz Kotwal of CHRI

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