I’m writing this with a lot of frustrations after the reception I got at my local police station. Let me tell you the story, I gave my phone to a mobile repair shop, and the repairer mismanaged with my email account. A chunk of data has been lost. I called the police headquarters, and they suggested me to lodge a general diary at the local police station. I went to the local police station to report the incident. To maintain social distancing, they were not allowing anyone to enter the police station. So we were waiting outside the police station with the hope that someone will come from inside and receive us. We waited for half an hour, but no one arrived. Minutes later, few other people had arrived with their problems. They were also waiting outside like us. Seeing a small crowd, one officer came out and started talking with us. As I was the first to arrive, the officer attended me first. I handed him the letter, and he said ‘why didn’t you sign’, I told him ‘I was not sure about the procedure that’s why I didn’t sign’. Then I gave him the supporting documents. Seeing the documents, he started to shout- what is this or what the document is for. I got scared and confused. Hearing my oral version, he returned the letter to me and said, ‘we don’t deal with this kind of case here. Go to headquarter.’ I replied, ‘headquarter told me to come here’. But by that time, he was inside the station.
The problem with the Indian police system is that it was established during British Raj. The British
had left the country but the mindset of the Indian police is still colonial.
There shouldn’t be any doubt that the Indian police system requires immediate
reforms. I’m saying this not because I had a bad experience at my local police
station but the truth is that governments, previous or current, haven’t taken
any measures to reform it. In India, people either fear or hate the police, not
respect them. However, in a civilized society, it should be the opposite. We
shouldn’t fear the guardian of our society. The respect between the police and
society should be mutual. We can approach them without thinking that we could
get hassled. And the police can approach ordinary people with the hope that
people will not ignore them. Many people don’t go to the police station just
because they don’t want to get hassled.
I dislike the tone in
which police speak. It shows they lack compassion and empathy. However, as one
of the guardians of society, compassion towards people should come naturally.
The little interaction I have with the police to date, I always felt a degree
of uneasiness. I never felt easy while talking with the police. There is a
concept that says police are different from civilians. However, the police are
an integral part of our society. They are not like army personnel who stay at
the borders to fight the enemies.
Indian police’s
colonial mindset gives them the notion that they have power over a civilian.
This notion is wrong. We understand that they need to be physically stronger
than civilians to combat criminals but that doesn’t mean they will show that
strength in their voice too. The agitation and ignorance present in their voice
is condescending and lacks empathy. We also understand that they have to carry
weapons to deal with criminals. However, I believe police stations located in
crime-free zones shouldn’t carry guns; a baton is enough for them.
But the most important thing is that when a person approaches the police, he should always begin the conversation with a smile. A smile is a deal-breaker. I understand I understand that police deal with such people who don't give a damn about a smile. But at the time of dealing with a civilian, they can change their behavior a bit. Or if it is possible to segregate the force into two parts- one part will handle the civilian cases and another part will deal with serious matters like crimes then it would be really helpful for people. We need a more measured approach from the police.
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