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| Many cops in Mumbai kick up controversy | | Union Home Ministry asks for detailed report | | NEW DELHI | MARCH 9
The Union Home Ministry has sent a message to Mumbai, asking the Chief Minister's office to furnish a detailed report on the "controversial" behaviour of several local policemen in Maharashtra. This, according to informed sources, follows the expression of dissatisfaction by at least three MPs during their meeting with the Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, over the conduct and "unwanted" activity of a section of cops in Mumbai.
Sources said that Shivraj Patil was told by the MPs that with their political bosses wielding the "moral" stick, as a shrewd strategy to woo conservative voters, police officers in Maharashtra have also gone on an overdrive, hoping to win over their political masters by conducting "high-profile" raids. After sundry police officers in Mumbai tried their hand at cracking down on the city's vibrant nightlife, and failed, it is now the turn of petty, but over-ambitious officials in smaller cities to try similar tricks to impress their political bosses.
Some police officers in Maharashtra have been conducting 'raids' on alleged vice dens primarily to woo Deputy Chief Minister, RR Patil, who is also the Home Minister, hoping that this would improve their career prospects. Patil had initiated a crackdown on Mumbai's nightlife by banning dancebars a few months ago. The Bombay High Court had found the order arbitrary and had given a judgment in favour of dancebar owners; but the government has taken the matter to the Supreme Court, where it is still pending.
A few overzealous police officials in Mumbai then reportedly tried to impress RR Patil by conducting raids on discotheques, pubs and even taking action against romancing couples along beaches and in parks. When the highly-publicised raids - select television networks are invited on these midnight misadventures - failed to impress their bosses, the campaigns by the 'moral brigade' fizzled out.
But now it is the turn of petty officials in rural Maharashtra to try similar strategies, the Union Home Ministry has been informed. An officer in Pune (rural) has in recent weeks been launching high-profile raids on farmhouses, resorts and hotels on the outskirts of the city, claiming to crack down on the vice trade.
Following the uproar over the harsh police action, the authorities are now trying to cover up their foibles by seeking to establish 'international links' to drug syndicates and cartels, to what was basically a weekend gathering of spoilt brats of rich Indians.
Every weekend, scores of such parties are held on the outskirts of cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and even Pune - where some teenagers do imbibe in recreational drugs - and enforcement officials keep monitoring these events to see that hardcore narcotics are not pushed by cartels. But last week's raid on the Pune farmhouse - and the consequent hullabaloo - had all the makings of an amateurish television serial. The police had invited select television channels for the swoop, invading the privacy of individuals, and virtually accusing all present of being drug addicts, reports reaching Delhi said.
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