Frequent Incidents of Assault on Maharashtra Police are Disturbing
Political class should assure men in khaki that Kalyan-like incident won’t be repeated, writes Shantanu Mukharji.
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It was ghastly to watch a video on all TV channels showing a bunch of goons trying to forcibly drown a Maharashtra Police Sub Inspector (SI) into a pond at Kalyan on 7 September. The SI, later identified as ND Dagale, swam to safety despite repeated and determined attempts by the miscreants to take his life.
Attack on Police Disturbing
The SI was only carrying out his responsibilities of enforcing an orderly immersion of the Ganesh idol in the vicinity, but incurred the wrath of the local goondas that nearly cost his life.
This incident shows the audacity of the mischievous elements to take on the uniformed police force, displaying scant respect for the custodians of law. This is indeed a very disturbing trend calling for immediate reining in. Assault is one thing, but the intent to kill is a very shocking sign. Although the four responsible for this dastardly act have been arrested, the question remains where did they derive their audacity and strength from? They surely had (and still have) political patronage emboldening them to resort to such extreme acts.
Past Instances of Assault
Significantly, this pattern of repeated assaults is not new in Maharashtra. There are numerous cases of assault on khaki. In not so distant past, a traffic cop on duty was fatally assaulted at a busy intersection. The case went past in a jiffy as if it was condoned. Or that’s what it looked like.
Again, recently, two MLAs physically assaulted a policeman on duty when he tried to stop them for over speeding at Mumbai’s Sea Link. The dutiful cop was put through further trouble and a privilege motion was also brought in against him. It was a fight between the law makers and enforcers of law.
Maharashtra Police Being Seen as a Soft Target
Earlier in January last year, a troop of 150 army men attacked the cops in Nashik. The assaulters were from Deolali school of artillery. 18 arrested for this undesirable act were all of the rank of lieutenants (commissioned officers). We see from this an emerging pattern that Maharashtra Police is perhaps seen as a soft target and being attacked repeatedly.
Maharashtra has had a glorious tradition of top class professional police leadership. Who can forget Ribeiro, Jog and their tribe? Political interference must have existed in their times too so what’s the ailment now? Is it the leadership or an excessive politicisation of the force that’s tilting the balance? According to the ongoing trend, the incidents of assault are on the rise and effectiveness of the police perhaps is on the descent. It is difficult to boost the morale of the force if these things are allowed to go un-checked. Former top cop Mr Ribeiro has already sounded caution on this aspect.
Political Intervention
Sensing the declining morale of the police force, Shiva Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray met Chief Minister Fadnavis along with the family member of the Sub Inspector soon after the Kalyan incident where the police officer was pushed to the waters to die, highlighting stern action against the defaulters.
Thackeray must have seen how his father Bal Thackeray dealt with such problems and it’s really heartening to see at least one politician coming to the rescue of the cops to keep their spirits and morale intact. Other parties should also show similar respect to earn the goodwill of the strong force as it’s only this force which is expected to keep Maharashtra and Mumbai safe from 26/11 type terror attacks or from any major communal problems with crucial bearing on law and order. If the force is not allowed to be kept as a well-oiled machine and apolitical then the consequences can be disastrous.
Boosting Morale of the Men in Khaki
It will not to be impertinent to mention that not very long ago, we saw reservation riots by the Jats in Haryana leading to serious breakdown of the law and order machinery. The police force comprising of 59,000 personnel was routed by the rioters.
Subsequently, the Prakash Singh committee presented its report outlining critical negativity in the force. Maharashtra needs to take a leaf out of this book so that its police force continues not only to meet the day-to-day challenges, but also to keep away from caving in to the political class. It is the joint responsibility of the state polity and the police leadership.
The police is accountable to the public and the society also needs to rise in support of the police to see that the working remains congenial and is devoid of any political interference. Similarly, the media too needs a proactive role to play - that of objectively exposing the wrongdoers targeting police.
Prime Minister Modi addresses the top police officers of the country each year for better policing and for a people-friendly attitude. Such calls will remain unheeded unless politicians calling the shots collaborate with the police in maintaining sanity in the public domain. The Kalyan incident of attempted drowning of a cop is no indication of any hope.
(The writer is a retired IPS officer, a security analyst and TV commentator on anti-terror issues. He can be reached at @Shantanu2818. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
Also read: Recent Attacks on Maharashtra Police Will Disillusion Men in Khaki