Opinion
Noida Incidents - Collusion, Connivance,
or Callous Incompetence?
by Maxwell Pereira
It was a bit queasy to read
in a national newspaper about the Noida police "pressurizing into
surrendering in court" a notorious criminal suspected to be behind last
Tuesday's horrendous crimes of killing an ex-airhostess and shooting a
former army lieutenant general! In the policing I knew, we did not
pressurize or persuade criminals to surrender in court - we just went
and arrested them, or at least endeavored sincerely to arrest.
What's more, it is learnt the criminal - Jatinder Yadav alias Lachchu,
who was also wanted for previous crimes, actually did surrender and was
remanded by the court in judicial custody - from where the police intend
to get him on remand, to question him for his involvement in the latest
crimes of April 8 in Noida.
The blatant shooting spree at point blank range in which retired Lt.
Gen. T.J.S. Gill was shot and air-hostess Sheeba Thomas was killed has
effectively spread terror and sent the sense of security around
plummeting, as also shocked the collective conscience of the people; as
did similar incidents that occurred in Delhi's Kalkaji, Masjid Moth and
Ashok Vihar areas just a day earlier.
It now turns out the two reported Noida incidents were preceded by three
other similar earlier the same night - which were not acted upon
promptly by the police dispensation there, despite knowledge - resulting
in the more serious shootings that followed. Such callousness does not
help improve the already low police image, nor does it help the 'police
cause' while defending the services they otherwise render.
In police parlance 'persuading', 'pressurizing' or letting a criminal
surrender in court was always viewed with suspicion and considered as
conniving or colluding with the criminal by affording him an opportunity
to escape being 'properly' interrogated by the police. In fact the
practice has always been the other way around - with police parties
lying in wait outside court premises to nab a criminal when he makes the
attempt, whenever there is the slightest hint of a possible surrender.
Also, more often than not, notorious wanted men have been known to
surrender before courts in districts not their own, or of neighboring
states. Till Delhi Police gained its reputation for 'encounters' most
wanted Uttar Pradesh gangsters were known to surrender in Delhi for fear
of being eliminated by trigger-happy, medal-seeking cops back home. This
would more often than not be achieved through a known Delhi Police
contact who could then claim credit for the arrest.
To facilitate local jurisdiction, a minor offence like one under the
arms act would at best be foisted on the criminal - with full
cooperation from the criminal of course! The surrendered daku could then
cool his heels in a Delhi jail in relative safety away from his
tormentors till the heat wears off or it is convenient perhaps for him
to secure bail and re-emerge on the scene when his political mentors are
back in the saddle.
Not only Uttar Pradesh gangsters but other criminals and wanted suspects
did it too: Sushil Sharma of the infamous Tandoor murder case of the
mid-1990s tried similarly to surrender in a court in Chennai and
ultimately did succeed in surrendering before a suburban court in
Bangalore Rural District - in an attempt to be incarcerated in a
Karnataka jail just so he could escape the clutches of Delhi Police
which had launched a nation-wide hunt for him.
More recently, the now convicted IPS officer R. K. Sharma had
surrendered before a court in Ambala when Delhi Police were gunning for
him in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case.
The incidents of Delhi and Noida catapulting to the fore negative
aspects of police laxity, perceived incompetence and/or collusion has
come at a time when the police leadership in the country is battling to
highlight the grossly discriminatory treatment that's been meted out to
the police services in the recently publicized recommendations of the
6th Pay Commission.
Police in the country are a demoralized lot today, with each successive
pay commission downgrading their pay structure and increasing the
existing disparities vis-à-vis corresponding levels in other services.
Relegating the police in whose hands the internal security of the
country and its people is entrusted to a pedantic and plebian status
does not augur well for the nation or its people. Neglecting any further
the just demands of the police services will only be to the detriment of
the already dying criminal justice system in the country.
Back to the Noida incidents, the Mayavati government, it appears, has
acted - albeit superficially and to save face - axing the station house
officer and the control room in-charge concerned by placing them under
suspension for laxity in the performance of their duties.
Finding scapegoats to put the blame on post the incident is all very
well. But does this really hold water? What about addressing the
maladies that perennially plague police functioning? What about changing
the collusive police mind set and non-responsive attitudes? More
importantly, what about some dignity of a decent pay to possibly lift
them out of the morass of corruption? And, lastly, what about providing
the basic policing infrastructure of manpower and equipment needed?
(Maxwell Pereira is a former joint commissioner of Delhi Police. He can
be reached at mfjpkamath@gmail.com)
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