While a 19-year old molestation case, in the heart of urban India, followed by utterly malafide, brutal and persistent use of "power" by the miscreant, a top-ranking police officer, against the victim - an underage girl - and her family members leading to the victim's eventual suicide three years later has now mercifully caused some ripples, albeit at the lapse of a short decade; all at the same time in Pune, again a "modern" and "progressive" urban centre of India, the local police, without any appropriate authorisation or whatever, has forcibly deported a young woman back to Nepal, wrenching her off from one of the most prestigious academic institutions of the country, on the charge of "anti-national activities", which now is revealed to be nothing more than a gritty stand against her bullying, and powerful, husband in a purely domestic dispute. And in Mumbai, and nothing less, senior police officials are found making merry in a discotheque with dreaded mafia dons to celebrate the Xmas. And it is the police which is there to prevent and check criminal activities!The only silver lining is the media making some noise. And the administration is at least squirming. Nothing less than a radical overhaul would do.Let it start with the first short step of "police reforms". I/III.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Stop-talking-just-start-delivering-on-reforms-now/articleshow/5406026.cms Stop talking, just start delivering on reforms nowMAJA DARUWALA, TNN 3 January 2010, 01:50am IST Now that the Ruchika case is a national headline, everyone is scurrying to do ‘the right thing’. Suddenly, circulars are being issued to say that FIRs must be registered, as if this were some bright new idea instead of actual law. Long-pending legislative amendments are being revived; more fast-track courts are being proposed; and the Kumbhakarna-like police establishment is eager as a beaver to reopen, reinvestigate and even re-register crimes they should have solved years ago. Senior civil servants and officers have found the courage to come out of the woodwork to say they had recommended disciplinary action against Rathore but were overridden.
This flurry of action, however, belies the absolute reluctance on the part of governments to straighten out the mess in policing. The Rathore case exemplifies the naked power the men in khaki can exercise. But if the ills that plague the police are well-known, so are the remedies: free the police from their unholy nexus with politicians; lay down in law the legitimate spheres of power and responsibility of each; equip them well; put in place systems to monitor performance and punish misbehaviour; make sure there are independent means of monitoring this and, above all, ensure that everyone — however highly placed — is accountable to the law and to nobody else. It is precisely to achieve this that the Supreme Court laid down a blueprint for police reforms in 2006. The aim was to check the rampant political influence over the police establishment, set up more open procedures for tenure, transfers, and promotions, and improve the redressal mechanism for public complaints against police. The court’s scheme, while not a complete solution in itself, does make a beginning in tackling some of the major problems with policing. Three years on, the states’ record in implementing the court’s directives has been abysmal. Some have sought to bypass it by enacting new police Acts; others have complied in part only on paper and implementation has been left for some uncertain future date — if ever. Haryana, the state where the Girhotra family saw so much sorrow, is typical of how governments have set about avoiding police reforms. In seeming compliance with the court’s directives, the government passed the Haryana Police Act of 2007. Full of infirmities and deviations from the court’s design, the law ultimately does little to create the necessary distance between the political executive and the police that the court had envisaged. Of the three watchdog bodies recommended by the court, one — the police complaints authority — has not been set up at all; the Act says that it may be set up if the need arises. The other two — the state security commission that lays down the state's policing policy and the police establishment board that decides on career advancement and discipline — have been designed to dilute their efficacy and make sure the reins remain firmly in political hands. These bodies also continue to remain on paper. The truth is that there is huge resistance to any kind of police reforms, particularly from those in the system who share a cozy relationship of favour for favour. It cannot have escaped anyone’s attention that the Rathore case — and many more like it — involves not your ordinary Joe, the filmi-type loutish cop, but those who consider themselves the crème de la crème of the service — the role models and the most privileged of the lot. It is they who can guide their men towards good or evil. But the truth is that the police have allowed themselves to become the fiefdom of their political masters. What else can explain the neat arrangement that allowed a chargesheeted officer like Rathore to pass muster through a departmental promotion committee consisting of top bureaucrats of the state and become director general of police? And if that was not enough, he goes on to get the President’s medal for meritorious service. Is anyone watching the cop shop? Now, it may be possible to find out what factors and influences went into the decision to promote a sullied officer. The wrongs of the police in the Ruchika case are as blatant as they are heartrending but they are not exceptional. Quite the opposite: change the names, tweak the situations and the story of unresponsiveness, intimidation, subversion of justice, victimization of the weak, delay and endless pain are to be witnessed everyday in every police station, in every court. It is no use for those in power to just talk about the possibility of new laws when the problem lies with the enforcer. The aim of this exercise must not only be to reach just conclusions in the case of individual wrongdoing but a revamping of the policing system that has deliberately failed our society, again and again. Maja Daruwala is the director of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and a campaigner for police reforms. II.A.http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/punes_film_institute_student_deported_to_nepal.php Pune: Film institute student deported to Nepal NDTV Correspondent, Friday January 1, 2010, Pune The police in Pune has deported a Nepalese student - from Pune's Film and Television Institute of India - charging her of being a threat to national security. The institute however says the girl was sincere and that the police did not follow proper norms. Neetu's friends say that her estranged husband, who is an influential Nepalese politician, might have orchestrated it. Students of the institute and women's groups are now planning to take the matter up with the central government. The activists say Neetu is "repeatedly contacting" them from Nepal, urging them to "save" her life. B. http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/3225-indian-authorities-draw-flak-in-nepali-student-deportation-case.html Indian authorities draw flak in Nepali student deportation caseSunday, 03 January 2010 14:17 A case of a Nepali student who was deported by the Indian authorities for her alleged Maoist links has ruffled feathers at the top echelon of the Indian government.Neetu Singh, 32, a student at a Pune film institute, was deported by the Pune police on the night of Dec.5 saying that she was a threat to national security.Charging her of being involved in anti-national activities, the police picked Neetu up from the hostel at midnight, took her to Mumbai against her will and deported her to Kathmandu the next day.The police later claimed that Neetu had links with a front organisation of the Maoists and had received specific inputs from Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).But Neetu claims she was deported at the behest of her husband Amaresh Singh, an influential Nepali Congress politician, with whom she is seeking a divorce.On Saturday, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP Brinda Karat drew the attention of Home Minister P. Chidambaram's in "an unjust case" of the Nepali student being deported. He also demanded a probe into the incident, asking how a domestic "dispute" had become a matter concerning "national security"."It is apprehended that her deportation is a result of her domestic circumstances," Karat said in a letter to Chidambaram, "It is unthinkable that in democratic India an adult woman should be deported simply because her husband and parents wish her to obey them and further that this should be projected by our law enforcement agencies as being a matter of national security.""She is allegedly a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her husband, a well connected politician in Nepal," Karat told Indian news agency IANS.The decision of the Pune police to deport Neetu also drew sharp reaction from the Union home ministry which described the act as one of "gross police high-handedness".Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said on Friday that the ministry has sought a detail report from the Maharashtra government on the incident.Meanwhile, according to reports, Maharashtra president of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) Kiran Moghe said she was in Mumbai to meet home minister RR Patil, to ask him to allow Singh to return to India so that she can complete her course.Neetu had married Amaresh two years ago in Kathmandu. III.http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Five+cops+in+trouble+for+‘mafia+dance’&artid=zEyhJ/J75h4=&SectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&MainSectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&SectionName=pWehHe7IsSU=&SEO=Five cops in trouble for ‘mafia dance’ MUMBAI: In a major embarrassment to the Mumbai Police, an IPS officer and four other personnel faced suspension on Saturday after they were allegedly seen dancing at a Christmas Eve party thrown by underworld don Chhota Rajan.Those facing the axe include Deputy Commissioner of Police V N Salve and Assistant Commissioner of Police Prakash Vani.Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil ordered an inquiry into the incident after video footage of the policemen at the Christmas party hosted by Chhota Rajan’s aide Paulson at the Chembur Gymkhana Club raised a public outcry. The video purportedly showed the policemen dancing with criminals of the Chhota Rajan gang.The Mumbai police remain mum on the likely action against the cops. Police PRO and ACP P G Jhadav feigned ignorance of the matter.ACP Prakash Vani denied the allegations and said the clips and photographs published in the media were doctored. Terming it a conspiracy, the ACP said it was irresponsible on the part of the media to have published the clips without verifying them. Peace Is Doable The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage. http://in.yahoo.com/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en.
