Over the last fortnight or so, the police’s official page on Facebook has been flooded with stories of men and women in khaki providing timely aid to citizens. Even photos of officers returning stolen mobile phones to owners are being uploaded.
This is not as much an image-building exercise as it is an attempt to boost the morale of the force, which has taken a beating with a spate of suicides and personnel attempting or threatening to end their lives.
Senior officers are hoping that this initiative will placate personnel who are unhappy, encourage them to perform their duties to the best of their ability and also improve attendance.
So far, however, it has not achieved the intended effect. The entire exercise has been criticised as a superficial band-aid to a problem that runs much deeper. In fact, one student who was a victim of an armed attack said that he was shooed away when he approached the police for help.
Last Saturday, a 17-year-old PU student Sundar (name changed) and his friend Nilesh were attacked by an armed gang of four near the busy Yeshwantpur bus stand in broad daylight.
They had got down from a bus and were crossing the road when they were attacked. The gang pinned Nilesh to the ground and began to divest him of his money and valuables. When Sundar tried to intervene, they turned on him. In the melee, Nilesh escaped and ran to get help from the police. He first approached a traffic police who turned him down saying that his job was to only manage traffic, Nilesh alleged. He finally managed to convince a ‘khaki-clad policeman’ to accompany him to the spot where he had left Sundar.
By then, the gang had fled with his friend’s phone and cash. The policeman hailed an auto for the boys and asked them to register a complaint in the jurisdictional RMC Yard Police Station. At the police station, the personnel heard the entire story, but then shooed them away stating that it was a gimmick.
“There are announcements from the police seeking information from people (about crime), but in reality it’s all a farce,” said one of the boys.
