SOCEITY
An equation worth noting
|
With more than half of Mumbai's population living in slums and an inadequately staffed police force to match, slum policing may be the way out in helping to solve local disputes and petty crimes. MEENA MENON on a successful scheme in Mumbai.
|
VIVEK BENDRE
While the general relationship between slum dwellers and the police is adversarial, panchayats could help lend a healing touch.
IT is not often that you see women waiting around a police chowky, a cabin which serves as a room for the beat officer. But for Suman Dongre, a schoolteacher, and others from the Milind Nagar area, in the suburb of Ghatkopar, in North-east Mumbai, it is almost their second home. Ever since they were selected to be members of the zopadpatti (slum) police panchayat — the brainchild of Mumbai police commissioner, Mr. A.N. Roy — their lives now revolve around fighting crime in the area.
Since June 17, 2004, when a preliminary meeting was held to introduce the members of the police panchayat to their new role, Ms Dongre and her team have been very active. "We have formed groups of five to seven people who work in two shifts and we sit in the beat chowky near the suburban station of Vidya Vihar for a few hours every day to solve complaints," explains Ms Dongre, who along with her 14-member group, has been designated as slum police sahayak (helper).
The slum police panchayat was launched on June 11, 2004, in 15 slums in Mumbai in partnership with the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF) and the Mahila Milan, a women's collective. "The incentive for me is to establish a one-on-one equation between people and the police," explains Mr. Roy, who had launched slum police panchayats in Pune city when he was the police commissioner in 2003. Since the general relationship between slum dwellers and the police is adversarial, the panchayats play a dual role — in improving relations and tackling petty crimes or disputes. The non-cognisable offences in slums are more than serious crimes, according to Mr. Roy. Till now there are 124 such panchayats in Mumbai, each consisting of a minimum of two or three local police officers, seven women and three men.
In Ghatkopar, simple problems are brought to the notice of the panchayat. Take the case of Virmati, a visually handicapped woman who was ill-treated by her husband. Many women complain of their husbands beating them. "What we can do is call both of them and try to make them see reason. This way, we solve the cases and they don't have to approach the police," adds Usha Jagtap.
"People are apprehensive of going to the police and they find it easer to come to us, says Chotelal Jaiswal, a panchayat member, who runs his own security agency. A tenant who was abandoned by her husband was about to be evicted by a landlord. The panchayat stopped it. In another case, a patient who survived severe burns refused to pay the doctor's fees. The doctor approached the panchayat for recovery of the full sum of his fees.
Suspicion fades away
Word about the panchayat has spread informally though, initially, there was scepticism that they were informers. Ms Jagtap says that panchayat members do the rounds, sometimes accompanied by the police. A meticulously kept register records all cases and complaints.
The panchayat members swung into action after the recent deaths of over hundred people in the city who consumed illicit liquor. Some gambling clubs were also shut down.
Nanda Chougule says, "We forced open a shop in Kirol village and seized eight crates of beer and a large drum of liquor. There are nine cases of illicit breweries being busted under this one beat alone," says Rupali Sitap proudly. The women's crusade has come at a price but they remain undaunted. Ms Sitap and Ms Jagtap are constantly threatened by goondas and a tempo belonging to Ms Dongre was burnt. There are rumblings too within the police force. "After the distilleries and the gambling clubs were busted, policemen lost their haftas (bribes). Also many complaints come to us and police lose out on money," says Ms Dongre. The distillery owners offered the women bribes of upto Rs. 50,000 for not reporting them.
On the other hand, equations between the community and the police are changing. "Earlier the police never entertained us," points out Pramila Mourya from the slum police panchayat at Mankhurd MHADA colony, also in North-east Mumbai. "They used to chase us away, now they call us `madam' and extend us courtesies," she adds. This panchayat has handled 45 cases since it started. "On the day the slum police panchayat was inaugurated, (on July 21, 2004), we got a case," says Malti Ambre. "People come to us with cases of petty quarrels such as those between a landlord and a tenant or even problems in the family. Once we had a case of a wedding which was called off but we sorted out the matter amicably," she says. Another complaint related to a teenaged boy causing a lot of disturbance by playing loud music in the locality. "If the people had gone to the police, the boy would have been beaten. The neighbours complained to us and we sorted out the issue. Later on, many thanked us for it," says Zuleikha Khan.
Arputham Jockin, president, NSDF, says, "Most of the time the police is dealing with petty crimes. Panchayats reduce the number of unwanted complaints. It gives the police a more social role and forces the community, too, to take some responsibility. Such panchayats can deal with both petty crimes and communal issues."
Not a new concept
Mumbai is not new to community policing. After the communal riots in 1992-93, Mr. Satish Sahney, who took over as police commissioner in November 1993, had started mohalla committees to restore some semblance of harmony in the city. "As a concept, community policing is sound. However, unless the police genuinely regard the community as an equal partner and give up their patronising attitude, it cannot succeed. It also requires an alert and mature citizenry. Policing is work which cannot be done without the support of the people," says Mr. Sahney.
Mr. Julio Ribeiro, also active in the Mohalla Committee Movement Trust, points out that community policing initiatives, if they come from the police, work well as long as you don't tackle corruption. He feels there may be resistance, as police don't welcome ingress into the police station as it may expose corruption.
A lot of it has to do with the situation of the police themselves. "There is devaluing of posts and it is time more attention is paid to housing, medical facilities and education. Police are used only for collecting haftas or as orderlies — they are not servants," he remarks.
With more than half of Mumbai's population living in slums and a police force of 40,000 which is inadequate, slum policing may help in solving local disputes and petty crimes, and it may even thrust a more social role on the police. However, issues of accountability and sensitivity, too, are long standing and fundamental and urgently need to be addressed if the community and police have to work together with respect and understanding.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Magazine
