‘Pressure led to police goof-up’

It becomes a matter of saving face when there is huge pressure to show results in an investigation, says Gopal Hosur

Heightened pressure from politicians, parents and the media could have resulted in police bungling the investigation into the rape of a six-year-old child at a private school in Marathahalli, say serving and former police officers.

Such pressure and hype could lead to miscarriage of justice while investigating a case, they say. Not only is it crucial for the investigators to keep a cool head, but also to stand their ground at such times to ensure a foolproof investigation.

A serving Additional Director-General of Police rank officer, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the demand for action, especially from people on social media, was so high that it leads to ‘unfair pressure’ on the police to show instantaneous results.

“There is an obsession about arrests that could lead to innocents being punished. An arrest does not always mean justice. In fact, a long investigation leads to balanced and authentic results,” he said.

Retired ACP B. Ashok Kumar said that though the arrest of Mohammed Mustafa on the charge of raping the child was unfortunate, the pornographic material found on his laptop made police suspicious of his involvement. However, it is better that this perversion came to light through the arrest, as he is unfit to be in a school, he said.

According to former Inspector-General of Police Gopal Hosur, who has handled high-profile terror cases, pressure is created around a case when senior leaders begin to question the investigators for lack of action. “It becomes a matter of saving face when there is huge pressure to show results in an investigation,” he says.

Transfers

The series of sexual assault cases in the city also led to the transfers of Raghavendra Auradkar from the post of Police Commissioner and Kamal Pant from that of Additional Commissioner (Law & Order) during the course of the investigation.

However, Mr. Hosur and Mr. Kumar felt that transfers do not solve problems. While Mr. Hosur said that dealing with pressure is subjective, Mr. Kumar said transfers can perhaps shake up the officers and prompt them to take their responsibilities more seriously. “The case in Fraser Town was an example where the junior officer failed to inform his superiors about the case. This kind of attitude eventually reflects on the seniors,” Mr. Kumar said.