The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Offenders take advantage of police indifference Law and order

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Saturday, May 03, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Offenders take advantage of police indifference Law and order

Police decline to register complaints on phone as the higher-ups find fault with them saying that the crime rate has shot up, says Marri Ramu

No doubt the Commissioner’s Task Force’s recent crackdown on organised criminal gangs was commendable.

Police claim these gang leaders are carrying out their operations ‘exploiting loopholes in the system.’ But, are the lacunae in the system solely responsible for the emergence professional criminal gangs? Isn’t the reported indiffere nt response of police to complaints from people also equally important factor?

Thefts in buses

The questions crop up in the backdrop of some facts stumbled upon by police after busting some gangs. They recovered over 300 stolen mobile phones from two gangs that used to select specific routes, board crowded buses in the guise of passengers and steal the mobile phones from passengers by picking pockets. Since the thefts were committed in buses in select routes - 300 in eight months - the local police should have noted the crime pattern. How did they miss out on this vital point? It is experience of many people that police decline to register a case when a person lodges complaint about theft or loss of phone. Different officers cite different reasons for this. The S.R. Nagar police register more than 1,000 cases a year. They don’t readily issue a First Information Report (FIR) if a complaint about theft is lodged on phone. “This is because everyday, four to five such complaints are lodged. If cases are registered, the higher-ups find fault with us saying crime rate has shot up,” an officer said.

In a good number of cases, the police issue a certificate stating that the phone is not traced by submitting which the complainant gets a duplicate SIM card from the service provider. “What can police do if a person forgets a mobile phone at a bank and approaches us seeking to trace it?” some officers argue. Whatever is the justification, not registering cases or maintaining data of stolen mobiles at police station level, has irrefutably helped the offenders.

In another case, the Task Force officials arrested a gang that extorted over one crore rupees from 11 businessmen in the city within six months. However, it was found that only two of the victims had approached police.

Members of the gangs resorting to extortions don’t physically meet their target for intimidation, but send warnings over phones. But the police maintain that threat over phone is a non-cognizable offence. They formally take the complaint, send it to the court and take up investigation only after the magistrate accords permission.

This process would take some days. Businessmen being threatened by extortionists would look forward for immediate response and action. They would naturally lose confidence if the policeman explains legal jargon. They would prefer to pay the extortionists and save their lives instead of approaching the police.

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