The Goa police needs to seriously decide which side it is on. In a series of shocking repeats, the police has been registering clear case of rape and violence against women as non cognizable offences, which by its very nature prevents the police of making an arrest or register an FIR, unless under the orders of the court.
Moreover investigations too cannot begin without court directions.
In each of the two brutal rape incidents under the jurisdiction of the Mapusa police station (see box), the first reaction of the Mapusa police was registered a non-cognisable offence.
Retired DySP, who belongs to the traditional school of policing, Vilar Veigas calls the “non-cognisable offense a big curse demanding the police system should do away with this practice. “NC is the biggest curse in the entire Indian police system. It should be made a cognizable offense where an accused is immediately arrested,” he said during a discussion with Herald.
With recent incidents including the infamous Camurlim torture where the victim’s previous complaints were registered as NC, retired top cops say the department has to be ruthless in taking action against criminals “The moment you take action, he (assailant) is discouraged,” former SP Appa Teli said adding that two-to-three NC cases against a person should automatically attract ‘chapter proceedings’ against him, which again, does not happen and is a failure in the present working of the system.
Veigas further goes on to add “Today, the chain of command is missing, which is why Non-Cognisable offences registered go unnoticed.”
Former chairperson of Goa State Commission for Women Ezilda Sapeco has a similar opinion as she also did not have good experience while handling women cases.
Ezilda Sapeco, who has had several runs-in with the police remarked, “Majority of the time, women were not provided assistance or cooperation required by the police. Their cases were neglected and in many cases, only because of our intervention, a case was registered and investigated,” she recalled.
She said that in many cases, women who complained against her husband or in-laws were asked to “compromise” rather than file complaints with the police. “It feels bad to see the inhuman attitude of the police towards women. There was complete negligence on the part of the police to handle the women-related offenses and the easy excuse they give is lack of staff,” she said.
Experts feel the police need to be sensitized even as the enrollment in the recent past has witnessed educated candidates in the force. However, police interference should not play a role as is the scene today, they said. Teli concedes there is favouritism and to a certain extent political interference which has spoilt the transparent working of the system.
