The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Political interference in police functioning decried

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Sunday, Mar 30, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Political interference in police functioning decried

Seminar on “good governance and police reforms” held
‘Political interference in police functioning should cease’

HYDERABAD: The interference of politicians in the day-to-day affairs of the police department came in for sharp criticism yet again when speakers at a seminar on Saturday expressed concern over the “extraneous interference” that became all so common in the functioning of the police.

They lamented that the governments were delaying the process of putting in place police reforms in tune with the Supreme Court’s directives.

No enthusiasm

The speakers, who included senior civil servant and former Karnataka Governor V.S. Rama Devi, retired IPS officer Kamal Kumar and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) executive board member K.S. Dhillon decried the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the State Governments to take substantive steps to modernise their police force in line with the Apex Court’s guidelines.

They were participating in a seminar on “good governance and police reforms” organised jointly by the Administrative Staff College of India and CHRI.

Ms. Rama Devi, who was chief guest at the inaugural, expressed concern that efforts to usher in reforms in police functioning were not moving on the expected lines because of the party politics.

“Police are being harassed by the Governments on the pretext that they had supported their Opposition party when it was in power,” she said asserting political interference in police functioning should cease forthwith.

Mr. Kamal Kumar said the fear of transfers and anxiety of police officials to please their “political masters” or “superiors” in administration were undermining the rule of law.

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