Unbelievable it may sound the stunning truth is that a department that is supposed to keep vigil over the morals of public functionaries has many skeletons tumbling out of its cupboard. The worse part of this story is that not only are charges of corruption leveled against a number of police functionaries, but also their colleagues and seniors in the department are trying their best to shield them and trivialize the charges brought against them. In normal course of things, the standing rules suggest that in case of charges brought against a functionary, first of all departmental inquiry is ordered by the concerned superior officer and then if charges are established, the case with the findings of the departmental inquiry committee is submitted to the head of the department/minister for their recommendation of asking the State Vigilance Organization to process the case against the functionary.
A bizarre situation has come to light in the Police Department. The State High Court is hearing a PIL regarding corruption. In this connection, the Court had ordered the Secretary Home Department to submit a status report which was to cover all the wings of the State Police Department. The status report submitted by the Home Secretary to the Division Bench of the High Court reveals that a total of 31 departmental enquiries relating to charges of corruption are pending in Police Department (excluding those from Vigilance Organization), 4 cases in Fire and Emergency Services Department and one case in Prisons Department. These cases are pending since a long time and the delaying tactics adopted by the Police Department in not completing inquiry and allowing the cases to linger on, is a deliberate act of obstructing normal function of the administration. Delay and procrastination of inquiry provide space to the culprits to manage their escape. The department is soft paddling on these cases. Amusingly some of the listed culprits against whom inquiry is pending, have reached the age of superannuation and they have drawn their pension emoluments and other benefits and are drawing their amount of monthly pension without hassles. The High Court has passed numerous orders asking the Police Department to speed up inquiry into the alleged cases of corruption. On March 13, the Division Bench had granted three weeks to the Home Secretary within which he was supposed to submit the status report. The revelations made above are the result of the status report that has been submitted to the Division Bench. Out of 31 pending departmental cases, there is no substantial progress in over 20 cases while as challan has been presented in two cases, prosecution sanction obtained in one case and minor action in the shape of stopping of increment has been initiated in two cases.
The police are the watch dog of public morals. It is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that cases of corruption are taken up vigorously, inquired impartially and then submitted to the proper quarters for final decision. In the matter of good governance, the Police is supposed to play major role. But if the police personnel are themselves corrupt and indicted, how can we expect the civil society to be clean and innocent of mismanagement. Unjustified prolonging of inquiry and allowing indicted officials carry on with their work normally is virtually allowing corruption prevail over entire administrative structure. The effective way of expediting inquiry into the cases of corruption is to hold the head of the department responsible for not completing the inquiry within the stipulated time. Although the Home Secretary has submitted the status report, yet while reading between the lines, one finds that in many crucial instances, the report is either vague or has suppressed the facts which could mislead the prosecutors. For example, in regard to allegations of corruption against some Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors, the report has a cryptic remark like “Matter has been taken up with Director General of Police, Inspector General of Police and concerned SSPs and investigation is under progress”. Such vague statements are meant only to shield the ground reality. Perhaps the police authorities think that there is no need for making the departmental inquiries time bound and that allowing the inquiry to linger on indefinitely becomes a safety valve because the case loses its force with the expiry of time. If this laxity is allowed for the Police Department, there is very little hope that corruption in other departments will be controlled. Charity begins from home and anti-corruption drive should begin from the State Police Department.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel