Nexus with goons; Cops may face axe

Arjun Raghunath
First Published : 11 May 2010 01:43:00 AM IST
Last Updated :

The humiliation suffered by woman police constable Pushkala from her colleagues for not abetting their goonda activities seems to have opened the eyes of senior officers in the city. Top sources in the police said that a move was on to identify those police personnel having a very long tenure in the city and transfer them to other districts after verifying their credentials.

Pushkala, attached to the City Police Commissioner’s office, had tasted the bitterness of the unholy nexus between police and criminals last week following the suspension of 10 cops, who were involved in a ruckus during a meeting of the Police Association.

Goons, allegedly on the behest of some of these policemen, intimidated Pushkala by storming into her house. The unfortunate incident will turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the police, if a proper clean-up drive takes place.

One of the major initiatives of K J Joseph during his tenure as DGP during 2002-03 was to transfer police officers, right from DySPs to constables, who were serving in a district for several years. The intention was not to extend the ‘yeomen’ service of the cops to other locations, but to chop off their unholy nexus with anti-social elements.

‘’There were cases of certain police officers serving in a district for more than a decade. Also, there were gangs of police officers in each district and their transfers were limited to a couple of police stations within a district, a meagre formality, ‘’ a top police official recalled.

But, as years passed, the influential cops managed to return to their favourite turf and continue there for years, unchallenged. Affiliations to the associations often gave an upper-hand to these cops.

‘’Even these days, those serving in a district for more than three years are being transferred out. However, those who have unholy links in a district would continue to serve in the district by way of ‘working-arrangements’,’’ say sources.

Over these years, there were a couple of instances in which action was taken against cops, who were found to have criminal nexus. A head constable attached to the Thampanoor Police Station was shifted recently following complaints of demanding money from a nearby fast food centre.

Another head constable attached to the Cantonment Police Station, Ajith, was recently shifted after he allegedly attacked an oil merchant in the city, who was a police informer, with the help of certain anti-socials.

Certain unethical investigation tricks adopted by the police is one reason for the nexus between police and criminals. Seeking the help of a criminal to nab another is a widely accepted strategy of the police, which eventually takes the nexus between the cops and criminals to disproportionate levels. The very unfortunate outcome of this unholy nexus is that one such instance would defame the force as a whole, sources in the police point out.

“Only a permanent mechanism to monitor the credentials of each and every official would help contain this menace,’’ a senior police officer said.

It is often not possible to take disciplinary action against the cops indulging in anti-social activities, as there would be no evidence, because no ordinary person would dare to give complaint against such a cop. Hence, actions are limited only to transfers.