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| Police Stations devoid of nafri as men guard VIPs | | Reorganisation, amendment in Police Act become empty recurring | | Bashir Assad
jammu, Dec 10: It sounds unbelievable but true it is; 1/4th of the total strength of J&K police stands deployed on gharat guarding the houses and properties of the politicians and 1/10th as personal security officials (PSOs) with the protected persons including Ministers, MLAs, MLCs and others.
And yet the Government is contemplating to re-organize the J&K Police Force to make it more efficient and competent enough to replace the Central security agencies deployed in the State.
After failing to bring reforms in Police Force as envisaged in a Supreme Court directive of 2006, the Jammu and Kashmir Government is actively considering re-organization of the police to make it competent enough for handling the security matters of the state as and when the Central forces deployed in the State are withdrawn.
Highly placed sources told Early Times that a high level committee has been constituted by the police headquarters to devise a comprehensive futuristic roadmap for the re-organization of the police force and propose measures to make it more efficient instrument for effective policing in turmoil-hit Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources, however, said that deployment of Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel in huge numbers for the performance of duties other than the normal policing which could not be assigned to the military was the major irritant because 1/4th of the total strength of the police is deployed on gharat and 1/10th as PSOs with the protected persons.
The police organization in Jammu and Kashmir in its present form is essentially based on the Jammu and Kashmir Police Act Samvat 1977 which was legislated to make the police force more efficient in prevention and detection of all the crimes but with the inception of militancy in the state in early nineties, the complexion of the policing underwent radical changes. It was in this backdrop that police force in huge numbers had to be deployed to guard important installations which were presumably on the target of militants besides providing protection to the protected persons particularly the politicians and political workers.
"On the other hand the J&K police continue to be increasingly targeted as symbol of the state due to which duties and responsibilities of the police force increased manifold," a senior police official wishing anonymity said.
The official said that the challenging task for the J&K police as on today is to revisit rather review its policy of priorities. "There is a considerable decline in militancy related incidents and the militancy itself is declining, there is a need to review the deployment of police on gharats and personal security of protected persons," the official said and added that as for the sanctioned strength in accordance to the threat perception in each case is concerned, the department has no problem but there is a huge army of police personnel guarding the protected persons both in person and their property which is beyond the sanctioned strength and if the department withdraws that much of the strength a huge manpower will be available for policing to replace the Central security forces as and when the situation demands.
The official said that for efficient policing the political intervention has to be minimized. "The qualitative change in style of politics has adversely affected the policing because the intervention in police affairs has increased alarmingly. He said that National Police Commission has very beautifully portrayed the present picture of the policing in the country which also applies to Jammu and Kashmir. While quoting the Commission, the official said, "what started as a normal interaction between the politicians and the services for the avowed objective of better administration with better awareness of public feelings and expectations, soon degenerated into different forms of intercession, intervention and interference with malafied objectives unconnected with public interest".
He said that in Jammu and Kashmir, the police department was facing a unique syndrome called "status symbol syndrome." "Keeping PSOs has become a status symbol and people are asking for PSOs keeping only this thing in mind," the official said and added that there is a good number of protected persons who have managed even ten times more than the sanctioned strength." Taking a couple of PSOs from district police, a couple of more from armed and an equal number of PSOs from security wing has become a fashion for some people.
On the other hand, the official said, 1/4th of the total strength of the J&K Police force has been deployed to guard important installations and the properties across the State. "In Jammu zone alone, about 151 religious places are permanently guarded by the J&K Police force in addition to other sensitive places like power projects, Central and State Government officers, migrant camps, houses and properties of politicians and other protected persons," the official said adding that here too the strength is much more than the sanctioned one.
The official said that withdrawing the unsanctioned police persons from the protected persons could help in streamlining the police force and also could pave way for radical police reforms. "Majority of the police persons deployed with the protected persons have even forgot the basics of the policing and in some cases they have turned political. " A PSO who is with the same protected person for last 15 to 20 years is no more a disciplined police person, he is now a political person and even family member of the protected and when this is the situation how do you expect policing from such a person," he said.
He, however, said that the department was working on a re-organization plan for last 10 months or so and a high level committee has been constituted with some reputed officers of Inspector General rank as its members who have been assigned the task of suggesting a comprehensive futuristic roadmap for re-organization of the police force to make it more efficient and more competent to replace the Central security agencies deployed in the State at the appropriate time.
A sitting legislator from ruling Congress party told Early Times that some MLAs have managed 15 to 20 PSOs and some have even more than that. There is one legislator who has 25 police personnel with him from various wings including SPOs. The MLA said that some politicians have even cooks and barbers from the Police Department.
The legislator said that she has concrete evidences to prove that some politicians have been managing their farms and farm houses by utilizing the services of the police personnel deployed with them. |
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