Although the top officers of the city police are keen to curb corruption practices in the passports application verification process and have initiated several steps, doubts remain about the efficacy of the exercise.
To begin with, the policemen assigned the task of conducting the passport enquiries (‘field officers’ in police parlance)are not paid any special allowance for the job although it involves a lot of moving around, police officials, seeking anonymity, informed.
As part of the passport verification work, the field officer is expected to collect the passport applications from the Passport Verification Cell office, visit the house of the applicant, conduct an enquiry in the neighbourhood. Then he has to verify the applicant’s criminal antecedents at the local police station and City Crime Records Bureau (CCRB) then submit a verification report at the PV Cell.
Apart from it, they also have to provide photostat copies of personal particulars form to the applicant. Considering the tedious task where the field officers have to spend money on fuel and stationery and with no other source of income many depend on the ‘tips’ offered by the applicant to meet their expenses.
The passport authorities pay around Rs. 100 to the State government for every application towards service charge for conducting an enquiry. However, the amount has never been channelled properly to benefit those involved in the job.
Many feel that unless some alternatives are made the corruption will not come down. A few officials feel that if this source is closed the policemen may find other sources of income. And with the special branch being considered eyes and ears of the police department one cannot expect the unit to look the other way around to criminal activities.
Police have to come clean on Obulesu’s first crime
No doubt the Hyderabad Police Task Force (TF) sleuths acted swiftly by nabbing police constable Obulesu after his vain bid to abduct a corporate honcho near KBR Park in Banjara Hills a few days ago.
But did teams of the same TF react with similar alacrity when they got a wind of a person extorting Rs.10 lakh by kidnapping a morning walker at gunpoint near the same place nine months ago? The question assumes importance since the police top brass announced that Obulesu admitted to them that it was he who was behind that kidnap for ransom in February.
Following the constable’s confession, the Banjara Hills police suo moto registered a kidnap for ransom case against him and are investigating it now.
What the police officials didn’t reveal was that some of them were aware of a person called Shirish, who came to KBR Park for a walk, was abducted by a stranger showing a ‘big firearm’.
After making the victim drive to Kothur of Mahabubnagar, the constable allegedly demanded Rs.10 lakh to set him free. He did so after the victim ensured the money was delivered to the kidnapper near Shamshabad. Information about the incident reached some police officials in the city, including the TF.
Police sources confirmed that a Task Force SI also went to Kothur to check about the extortion.
Strangely, TF officials, otherwise often busting rackets of fake certificates and complex crimes pursuing some vague clues, didn’t go beyond visiting the crime scene. The TF SI obviously would have informed his superiors about the information but the ‘inaction’ only emboldened Obulesu to strike for the second time.
The Narsingi police of Cyberabad too should take the blame for having registered a case of theft of AK 47 rifle from Premavathipet Greyhounds centre but not bothering to alert other police stations about the offence. Or, surely it would have aroused the suspicions of TF officials about the gun used for extortion.
