The black sheep in the Delhi Police have been showing up with alarming frequency in recent months. Several cases have singed the reputation of the force. These include the alleged murder of a man in custody and the mass transfer of nearly 50 personnel from the same police station following charges of their involvement in a betting racket and other crimes.
In the beginning of this week, a 30-year-old businessman was abducted in the name of questioning and then tortured to death in Bindapur. What followed was a massive protest which was quelled with the use of tear gas. The case is now being probed by the Delhi Police Crime Branch and the Station House Officer concerned has been suspended.
Just a few days before the above incident, 49 police personnel posted at the Nand Nagri police station in North-East Delhi were transferred to the Third Battalion of the Delhi Police for allegedly letting betting syndicates and other illegal activities, including gambling and bootlegging, thrive in their area. But the complainant in that case had a tough time getting the police to act.
In Rajouri Garden earlier this month, four persons, including two Delhi police sub-inspectors, were booked for allegedly beating up two men in a road rage incident.
Last month, a Delhi Police constable was among the three arrested for robbing an Afghan tourist of foreign currency worth over Rs.75 lakh. They posed as men from the Special Staff to carry out the robbery.
While senior officers are pondering over the spurt in crime among men in uniform, lack of deterrence seems to be a plausible explanation. Many officers acknowledge that day-to-day corruption had come down during the short-lived tenure of Arvind Kejriwal as the Chief Minister of Delhi. A no-tolerance approach of the State Government had created an atmosphere which encouraged the common man to raise his voice against corruption and misuse of the power vested in the hands of the cops, they say.
It is a time for a deep introspection for every man and woman in uniform. It remains to be seen if the khaki would be cleaned of the spots.
