Last week, the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) intervened. Its director-general Kiran Bedi announced that the bureau had approached universities to research why the police was performing so badly. "We have finalised a memorandum of understanding with eleven universities, including Tata Institute of Social Sciences and JNU, to undertake research in policing," she said. This makes Bedi andBPR&D not part of the solution but part of the overall problem. Imagine seeking fresh insights from university dons into why the police perform badly!
In the 1960s, the Khosla Commission report suggested police reforms. The government did nothing. In 1979-81, the National Police Commission headed by Dharma Vira produced eight detailed reports outlining reforms in different facets of policing. The government did nothing. In the mid-1990s, former BSF chief Prakash Singh petitioned the Supreme Court against government inaction on police reforms. Later the National Human Rights Commission joined him.
In September 2006, the Supreme Court vindicated the petitioners. It ruled that the government carry out the 1981 report’s recommendations. On January 3 this year, and again on January 11, the Supreme Court sternly ordered the governments of all states to comply with its ruling. It was after this that Kiran Bedi and BPR&D sought guidance from universities about deficiencies in policing!
I have not read any of the National Police Commission’s reports. But this is how the system evidently works. A village rustic gives a bribe of anything between Rs 50,000-1,00,000 to buy recruitment to the police force. I don’t know the going rate. Once recruited, the new policeman’s first priority is to recover his money—which usually is a loan requiring repayment. By the time this is accomplished, he is well versed in "policing". He is overseen by seniors who were schooled the same way. The corrupt seniors are overseen by ministers who too are corrupt. Political corruption leads to institutionalised police corruption. The very purpose of being a policeman is distorted by corruption.
So no amount of reports on policing will solve the problem. Kiran Bedi and others should know that. The problem is much bigger. It is much deeper.
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)
