The Delhi Police have been shouting hoarse that they register cases in almost all grievances that come their way, but when it comes to their own personnel, few complaints translate into FIRs.
According to data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), around 35 complaints were received against Delhi Police personnel every day last year. However, only 145 of the 12,913 cases reached courts.
Departmental inquiries were initiated in 6.5 per cent of the cases, and disciplinary action taken in around 8 per cent of the cases. As many as 69 police personnel were dismissed from service, while 416 were punished.
Some respite
The situation in 2014 was marginally better. At 11,902, there were fewer complaints against the Delhi Police. Though there were fewer departmental inquiries, a larger number of police personnel were taken to courts or punished internally.
Responding to the data, Mr. A.K Patnaik, Special CP (Vigilance), attributed the few FIRs against his personnel to majority of the complaints being non-cognizable in nature.
“Most of the complaints we receive are related to a victim’s dissatisfaction with the officer handling the case. In some cases, the aggrieved parties are those who feel harassed by traffic officers. But, there are clear guidelines by the Supreme Court for dealing with complaints related to our personnel, and we strictly adhere to them,” said Mr. Patnaik.
Tackling complaints
The statistics, however, do not mean there is no mechanism to address grievances against police personnel.
According to senior officers, each police district has a cell in the DCP’s office where the public can file complaints.
A complaint is then forwarded to the public grievances cell in the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) concerned.
The ACP then asks a Sub-Inspector or an officer of a higher rank to inquire into the complaint.
If the complaint is found substantiated, it is sent back to the DCP’s office. “Departmental inquiries are ordered against only those complaints which are found ‘substantiated’ and classified as ‘serious’. If the departmental inquiry finds prima facie evidence of a cognizable offence, an FIR is registered,” said an officer.
However, the problem is that cases against police personnel are usually investigated by their colleagues, thus leaving a wide scope for unfair probe.
