The recent incidents in the
Capital have surely put a big question mark on the efficiency of the Delhi
Police. Every other day we find articles criticizing the department. We find
activists demanding the resignation of the top Delhi Police officials and hear
speeches about how the police have failed in its duty.
We stand nowhere to argue that
Delhi is a very vast city. And
protection of each and every civilian is no doubt the responsibility of the
Delhi Police. But we must understand that even we are responsible for our own
safety. Well, my point here is not to discuss who is correct and who is wrong;
who has failed or what could have been done.
Actually here I am sharing three
instances of mine which I have experienced in relation to the Delhi Police. At
this point of time, I believe seldom we find articles praising the police. But
I believe, Delhi police is indeed commendable. At least from what I have
experienced, I pretty much have a faith in the department now matter how filthy
some people claim it to be.
I absolutely had no experience of
dealing with police till this incident happened. After my two years of stay in
Delhi, when it was the time for my admission into the Delhi University, I was
in the North Campus collecting admission forms. It was a lazy June afternoon as
I passed by a deserted street in the campus. Three vehicles were parked in a
corner with three drivers. As I passed by the vehicles, one rear view mirror of
a parked Innova fell apart.
I had no clue what happed and all
of a sudden, three drivers surrounded me and started blaming that I broke the
mirror and demanded money. And since I was low on cash, they asked me to hand
over my cell phone and bag and leave. A pure robbery, it was. I had no clue
what to do and I was all alone.
Hence without any hesitation I
pulled out my phone and dialed 100. I just told them my location and asked for
help. The drivers probably thought that I bluffed and started bulling me saying
that did I call in a full force of commandos. However they got their real shock
of the life when a police van arrived within 10 minutes of the call which made
the robbers run for their life.
Yes 10 minutes it was. All I had
to do was be a little patient and engage those morons till police arrived. As
the van went down behind the cars, a police official came to me and asked me
what happened. I was scared. First time something such happened. Be the young
officer calmed me down, asked me to write down what happened and even gave me
his personal number in case I had any further problem; yes he gave me his
personal number for my safety. Yes, such helpful were they.
The second incident happened on 1st
January 2013. Yes, after the much hyped Delhi gang rape incident. After the mid
night New Years bash, alongside my friends I happen to be on our way home. It
was 4.00 in the morning and was freezing cold, as we walked down the deserted
GK 1 road, looking for transportation. Very soon we reached a police check
post, where a few security personals sat lilting a bon fire. As we walked by in
the cold, shivering, they called us up, asked about our whereabouts and after
having confirmed that we were students, they offered us a seat and asked us to
enjoy the fire. Added to this, they started to look for an auto for us and even
negotiated the price for us when they got one. Such good they were.
The same very morning, as we got
down the auto at the inner Ring Road near the Hayyat Hotel, we found a vehicle
parked nearby the road in the opposite site with head lights off. We peeked
through and found a man with his head lying on the steering wheel. We knocked
on the door, no response. He was not movement at all. Immediately we called 100
to inform about the incident. But the phone was disconnected in between the
conversation as my friend had a dead battery. The very next moment, I called
from my number to inform about the same. And believe us, within a span of 10
minutes, two PCR Vans approached the location. And this 5.00 am, early in a
winter morning on the 1st of January.
Delhi Police is active. We must
not lose our faith on them, and play along the blame game. The last incident
clearly suggests that with a little bit of public co operation, we can make
this city a lot safer place. I have had several other experiences with the
Police Department regarding permissions and trust me; I have found them very co
operative. Yes there might be some bad people inside the system, but that doesn’t
mean that whole system is feud. Don’t we have disturbing elements in our family?
We are equally responsible for our safety, as they are. Jai Hind.
I agree with you...Considering how vast and bloody populated the Cities are , I consider it literally impossible for a task force , no matter how vigilant , to monitor every By-Lane and alley...It's impossible. If such is the requirement , they would have to recruit a Policeman for every citizen...Population Count = Police Count..Which is silly and impossible...Hence , on our parts too...We probably need to tighten up instead of always blaming the Forces...
ReplyDeleteHeartened to hear about your good experiences, though that first one you described was a hairy one. I am glad that you got out of that one unscathed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I suspect that the behaviour of the police force with people who are poor and uneducated is harsh and unconscionable. And really for no other reason other than the fact that those people are poor and uneducated.
Well might be a probable reason. I have realized this that if you properly acknowledge the police personals, they tend to listen to you. As I wrote there are people in the force who happens to be crooked. But there are also people who are good. And trust me, Human psychology of people personals are terrific, they can read people very well.
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