Probe the police

The arrest of an ex-ASP for his alleged involvement in a series of underworld crimes has no doubt shocked both the public and the police alike. It is reported that some of the heists that he is alleged to have masterminded have brought in over 1. 2 million to the gang.

Since this arrest is under investigation we do not comment on this specific instance. Instead we spotlight the unsavoury nexus that has been established between the arm of the law and criminals.

Collusion of unconscionable elements in police with criminals is not something new.

It is this unfortunate nexus between certain police officers with the underworld that has made cracking down on criminal gangs an uphill task. The crime wave sweeping across the country, the thriving narcotic trade and proliferation of illicit liquor dens all over the country would not have reached the proportions they have today but for the link between anti social elements and police officers.

The danger the liaison of police officers with the underworld is fraught with is manifold. Such collusion provides criminals with a safe haven within the police department itself while the material benefits that accrue to those officers lure others to the same malpractices. Criminals by virtue of their links with high ranking police officers gain access to information meant for the eyes of only the top brass. This puts to rout efforts made by the police to effectively deal with the underworld and has necessitated the setting up of special units to combat crimes.

Awareness of young police officers that their superiors are in league with underworld characters in addition to constituting a deterrent to them in respect of carrying out their duties efficiently and impartially has the potential to make them want also to emulate corrupt officers living in clover.

The bond between the police and criminals has also led to erosion of public confidence in the police. Hence, the cynical view that the people have of the police and the legal system.

Nothing could be more damaging to the image of the police than the loss of credibility as a force of men with integrity. Needless to say that the loss of public confidence in the police and the legal system redound to criminals. We already experience this sordid state of affairs in politics, which many have come to look down upon as a refuge for criminals.

That the underworld is holding sway in the country is evident from the high incidence of gun running, prevalence of narcotic trade and the on-going crime wave. These crimes are increasing at such a rate that we are afraid that the day cannot be far off when the country will be ruled by murder incorporates and various other crime syndicates as is happening in places like south Italy, the stronghold of the Mafia.

It is too obvious to deserve reiteration that we are perched on a simmering volcano. There are thousands of military deserters at large at present and there is the danger of more of these trained young men drifting towards those who promise them an easy way of living at the expense of social well-being.

With more and more being recruited and given military training, the situation is likely to deteriorate further in the time to come. This points to the urgent need for working out a strategy to meet the underworld head on. Piecemeal measures adopted to deal with crimes as and when they are committed will prove futile vis-a- vis the powerful underworld patronised by politicians and police officers.

A meaningful step towards this goal will be to cleanse the police of corrupt officers colluding with law breakers. For this to fructify, a necessary condition to be fulfilled is to have allegations against police officers probed by a special team of investigators. Let it also be made mandatory that all police officers declare their assets when they join the department and account for whatever increase, if any, is reflected later in them.

It is essential for the police to regain public confidence and discipline itself if it is to combat crimes effectively.