A couple of developments in the past five weeks have left the countrymen bewildered. They are equally clueless about the shape of things to come.  In the last week of December, 2008 policemen in Puducherry gathered at the premises of Principal District and Sessions Court and staged a protest against refusal of bail to a sub-inspector who was caught red-handed by the CBI while collecting bribe money from an advocate. In January 2008,  an IPS Officer of 1995 batch was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism squad on recovery of nearly 40 Kgs of white heroin with Pakistani markings.  This officer is posted as the Deputy Director of the Enforcement Directorate at Kochi in his home State.  Prior to this, he was posted at an equally prestigious/challenging assignment - the Zonal  Director, Narcotics Control Bureau, Chandigarh.  Newspapers have also carried stories of Chief Justice of India permitting the CBI to question serving Judges of the High Courts at Allahabad and Chandigarh after the arrest of a Court official at Ghaziabad and an additional advocate general at Chandigarh in two different cases.  Last week also witnessed a countrywide strike by lawyers against the passage of Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2008 which introduced a new and rationalized section 41. This insertion limits the powers of police to arrest anyone "concerned" with a cognizable offence.  Mercifully, police officers all over the country have not reacted to this restriction. Surprisingly, nobody has protested against the pendency of nearly three crore cases in various Courts!!

            On 5^th February, the Bombay High Court quashed the appointment of Maharashtra Director General of Police and also passed strictures against the then Dy.Chief Minister who was also holding the Home Portfolio.  In doing so, the High Court has in effect upheld the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal which had earlier set aside the appointment of Shri A.N.Roy. This order was appealed against by Shri Roy as well as the State Government. The State Government was directed to appoint a new DGP within four weeks as the earlier appointment was "arbitrary" and against the doctrine of equality. One wonders as to how the "babus" in Mantralaya erred.

In this context, one gets reminded about the highly informative book of Shri K.S.Dhillon - "Identity and Survival - Sikh Militancy in India 1978-93." Shri Dhillon a retired IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre was known as a decent and scholarly professional who excelled in difficult charges such as Superintendent of Police at Morena and Bhopal, Dy. I.G. Jabalpur range, Joint Director, CBI and Director General of Police Punjab immediately after operation Bluestar.  His scholarly abilities were recognized after retirement when he was appointed Vice Chancellor of Bhopal University two decades ago.  In this honest and factual account, he was revealed the intricacies of police working particularly the interface with politicians and mafias as also general public.  In simple language he reveals in preface:

"As a class, policemen are believed to look at aggressive behavior as a symptom of criminality and malfeasance.  Infact, a successful career is largely contingent upon shedding all commitment to human rights and democratic imperatives. A police recruit must first thoroughly and consciously dehumanize and desensitize him/herself".

Shri Dhillon served as DGP, Punjab from July 1984 to August 1985. He was reverted to M.P. soon after the murder of Sant Longowal. The prevalent conditions were very favorable from the policing angle.  There were no MLAs since the Assembly had been dissolved.  The organized and armed body of militants controlling Golden Temple Complex had been liquidated in Army action. There was no shortage of police/armed forces manpower as the deployment was heavy.  There were no 24 hour news channels in those days and public interest litigation was relatively unknown.  There were no Human Rights Commissions and couple of activists had been eliminated.  A sizeable number of officers had been taken from  outside the State including the Chief Secretary so that they could take fearless decisions.  The press and particularly the national media was supportive of the administration.  Towards the latter part of his tenure, the Governor of the State was an experienced and successful administrator who even carried his team of officers from Bhopal.  Shri Dhillon writes on page 277 as follows:

"Along with Arjun Singh came several officers from his home State of M.P. known to be personally loyal to him, including both his special assistants, his personal security officer and other staff, apart from almost a battalion strength of M.P. SAF for personal security ......even the Inspector General, intelligence, Punjab was a trusted loyalist, who had worked as joint director of the State intelligence bureau at Bhopal, when Arjun Singh was M.P. Chief Minister".

In the last two chapters of the book, Shri Dhillon gives a chilling account of police operations that were undertaken  post operation Blue Star. He writes :

"Since all other organs of the State had become dysfunctional by this time, the police and central armed forces, as the only fully operational state agencies, unleashed a full blown police raj, characterized by oppressive, callous and insensitive behaviour towards citizens ..........a situation tailor made for the police to sow seeds of suspicion and mistrust between different groups, even to help set up new groups of fake militants to discredit the sikh militants by engaging in blatant criminal activities." (p.288-289)

On page 312 he writes ......"It was not only the masses who felt threatened by the activities of a lawless police - even judges, magistrates and senior IAS officers were apprehensive of their safety and well being."

Elsewhere also he gives numerous examples of the culture of illegitimate, brutal and venal policing by inspector Dalbir Singh and Shri Gobind Ram, a Superintendent of  Police.  His narrative amply illustrates the consequences of police being given a free hand or functional autonomy.  The well-researched and objective account, written almost 20 years after the happenings makes a strong case for reforms. Accountability to the community should be hallmark of new order based on stricter monitoring and stronger checks and balances.  There is an old saying -"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Such a situation should never be allowed to arise again.