The state of law and order in Goa is worrisome to such an extent that burglars don’t think twice before opening fire on none other than police themselves. There is no fear of breaking into houses in broad daylight. Gold chains from women are snatched while donation boxes in religious places are not safe either. These incidents raise question marks on the capacity of police forces. A while back the Hyderabad police had made serious remarks over the police system in Goa with regard to drug cases, and while these memories are still fresh, the recent incidents continue to expose the lack of vigilance that’s expected from Goa Police. When the traffic division of police are deployed on the road, they’re accused of harassment instead of regulating the flow of traffic. It is also true that they have failed their responsibility of imparting traffic education.
There is a need for police to clean their own tarnished reputation and it is possible only if they reduce political interference in their department. The State police had shown commendable promptness in Tarun Tejpal case and Goan public expect the same in other cases as well. Routinely, when someone approaches the police station, the police officer listens to the query of the person. If he/she has brought a complaint application with them, then they record it and return a copy of the same to the complainant. The usual approach of the police is to tell the complainant how the complaint is not a cognizable offence.
If it is a case of assault then first a medical test is conducted and a complaint is registered in a delayed manner. Reception rooms have been started at police stations but whether the ones climbing the steps of the station are looked at with different points of view or not, is questionable. Although the Supreme Court has ordered to file an FIR in cognizable offences, there are many incidents in Goa, where people had to approach the courts for police to register the FIRs. This means that police either don’t register FIRs without a complaint or even when someone files a complaint, they intentionally cause delay in registering the FIRs. People have reasonable expectations, which is for police to handle the cases without being partial. It is always confidently stated that there is no political interference in police operations and the police as well as the common public know how much truth that narrative holds. One would know what the above statement means, if they know why a Police Inspector of a taluka or a city is transferred whenever there is change in political power in the State. Hence, it is safe to say that there has always been political interference in police departments and will continue to do so.
Some officers are given important posts when there is a particular government in power while rest of the time they’re posted in reserve police force. This speaks volumes whether there is political influence or not. Political interference in police forces is an old, recurring pain. Many experts suggested remedies to cure this however, the lack of willpower to treat the wound has sustained the pain. Regardless of the party in power, every ruler wants the police force under their influence. A police officer Prakash Singh had filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court for implementation of the recommendations made by National Police Commission. In its judgment, the Apex court had given seven recommendations to improve the situation of police forces. The recommendations included establishing a safety commission, not transferring police officers for a minimum of two years, creating two independent branches of law & order and crime disclosure, creating a police establishment board and police complaints authority.
The implementation of these recommendationswere expected to reduce the interference of politicians in police departments, but the lack of effective implementation has failed to meet the intended purpose. For it to become a modern and capable entity, the police department has to have independent authority. It shouldn’t have political influence neither the postings of officers should be done with the help of political connections. The power of transfers and promotions shouldn’t be in the hands of politicians. These decisions should be left with the independent committee for police. The postings at crucial places should be done by a committee consisting of former police officials instead of a secretariat. When one converses with the police officials privately, they confess to being pressurised by politicians sometimes to safeguard certain criminals.
Such interference is so deep rooted that many times opinions of honest officials are sidelined. In fact, people associated with politicians are helped through unofficial orders and hence, police have to keep neutral ties with politicians and criminals alike. In such a situation, where shall common men go for justice? Whether to keep the image of the police forces as it is or to improve it depends entirely on the police department. If police show equal promptness in all the cases, then it’ll lead to forming a relationship of trust between the police and the common people. People will stand firmly behind honest police officials. Will it ever become a reality though, that’s the question?
