Policing the police: Punish offenders

Kripa Shankar Kanaujia, Deputy Superintendent of Police, while posted as Circle Officer in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao was sanctioned leave to visit his family in July 2021. Since he did not reach home and had switched off his mobile phone, his wife became concerned for his safety and contacted the Unnao police superintendent. A manhunt was launched for the missing officer and he was traced to a hotel in Kanpur, where he had checked in with a lady constable.

After a formal disciplinary proceeding, the DSP was found guilty of an extramarital affair with his subordinate and was demoted to the rank of constable — the rank at which he initially joined the UP Police. Though the punishment appeared too harsh, there is a provision in the rules for reversion to the rank in which one joined the service.

Sub Inspector Vijay Gaur of Chhawla police station in New Delhi was caught red-handed by the CBI on June 21, 2024, while accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to avoid arresting a complainant in a case registered against him. Over a dozen corruption cases were registered by the CBI against Delhi Police personnel this year.    

Sub Inspector PVS Bhavanisen Goud of Kaleshwaram police station in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district of Telangana was dismissed from service on June 19, 2024, after he was found guilty of raping a woman head constable at gunpoint. He barged into her room close to the police station in the early hours of June 16. The dismissal was swift under Article 311 of the Constitution, without a formal departmental enquiry, due to previous similar reports against him.

Increasingly, police officials have started taking the law into their own hands. They feel well-protected within the force as their colleagues are unlikely to act against them and even filing an FIR would be nearly impossible.  

According to 2022 statistics from the National Crime Record Bureau, in 2,614 cases registered against police officials across the country, 1,113 personnel were arrested.

Out of these, 783 were chargesheeted and trials were completed against 294 personnel. Only 12 were convicted while the remaining 282 were acquitted.

A maximum of 375 cases were registered in Maharashtra, with 256 personnel arrested and 143 chargesheeted. Trials had not been completed. With six policemen convicted after trials, the Madhya Pradesh police recorded the maximum convictions. In all, 193 were acquitted. Chandigarh recorded two convictions in four trials that were completed, while there was one conviction each in Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Forty-nine constables of Ambedkarnagar (UP) were recently suspended for various acts of misconduct, corruption and negligence in duty.

In 2021, a total of 6,164 complaints were registered against policemen across the country. While 1,163 police personnel were arrested, 832 were chargesheeted; 240 trials were completed. Merely 15 were convicted and the remaining 225 were acquitted. It’s not surprising that very few are convicted. Senior officers who conduct the inquiries are from the same fraternity and tend to be sympathetic towards the accused. If the witnesses happen to be police personnel, they are unlikely to give statements that would prove the colleague’s guilt.

A comparison with the figures of police complaints in England and Wales for the year ending March 31, 2023, reveals how honestly they take punitive action against erring officers. Of the 971 officers investigated, 828 were found guilty of misconduct and action was taken against them, while no action was called for in the remaining 143 cases. 

Inspections and visits to police stations by senior officers can curb acts of indiscipline as they provide opportunities to get to know subordinates well and advise them when they go wrong. Correction in the initial stages will enable subordinates to rectify their wrongdoings. Overlooking acts of misdemeanour only serves to encourage them, which can result in severe punishment in the long run. Condoning indiscipline is never in the interest of subordinates. Sub Inspector Bhavani Sen Goud could have been spared the severe punishment of dismissal under Article 311 if he had been pulled up earlier when cases of rape were reported against him.

Senior supervisory officers who are upright and professionally efficient will not hesitate to initiate disciplinary action against corrupt, immoral and dishonest subordinates when they are caught on the wrong turf. The black sheep shame the entire police force and tarnish their image, which is malefic to the performance and efficiency of the police.

(The writer is retired Inspector General of Police, CRPF)