Will people have any trust in the police if a cop beats up his wife on the street

In the entire incident of a Head Constable and a policewoman being suspended for being detected allegedly in a compromising position by the constable’s wife who appeared on the scene, is the more serious act of the constable. Of brutally thrashing his wife on the footpath. While unleashing his rage, she fell on the ground and could have been seriously hurt.

The trigger for the incident and the subsequent complaint on Face Book posts make it evident that they are an estranged couple. Now all acts emanating from that, on both moral and legal grounds can be dealt with through the legal systems under various provisions of law. The wife’s version or the husband’s version is at this point of time two conflicting points of view on their relationship and acts committed within and outside it. But there is no grey area with regard to the head constable beating up his wife on the footpaths of Guirim and he sitting in a car with tinted glasses, which to is against the law.

When his wife walked up to his car with another woman (a lady constable) sitting next to her husband and abused the  lady constable, he got out of the car, moved to the passenger side caught his wife  and started beating her up. He then pushed her with such force that she falls on the ground.

Section 352 of the IPC states, “Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person otherwise than on grave and sudden provocation given by that person shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.”

The section also states: Grave and sudden provocation will not mitigate the punishment for an offence under this section, if the provocation is sought or voluntarily provoked by the offender as an excuse for the offence. Whether the provocation was grave and sudden enough to mitigate the offence is a question of fact.

Where is the Women’s Commission or the Women’s Police station?

The Goa police were quick to suspend both the constables. But while this appears to be a reaction to the video of the sitting in the car and the constables attire or the lack of it, we ask where is the team from the Women’s Police Station, created for the specific protection of women. They should have taken suo moto cognisance and arrested the Head Constable.

We have a State Women’s Commission. Or do we?

A woman has been beaten on the streets brutally. The identity of the woman and the assaulter is clear. Does the State Women’s Commission have to wait for an official complaint to go and meet the woman and summon her husband for an appearance? The Commission has the power to even summon topmost police officials and question them on why police actions have not been initiated. And make recommendations to the government. Is the system protecting one of its own?

Will people have any sense of safety when those in uniform behave like brutes

Already the faith in the police after the Siddhi Naik case and murders and deaths is very low. But if we allow a serving policeman to get away by beating up his own wife (or any other woman for that matter) it will be confirmed that this is a lawless force in uniform and lose all faith.

Therefore, it’s very important to set an example and book the head constable for assault and other acts relevant to this act of his.