NGOs release manifesto for police reforms in M'rashtra

Alleging that the police reform measures initiated after Mumbai terror attacks are not enough, activists have now come up with a ten-point manifesto ahead of the Assembly elections to ensure better policing in Maharashtra.

The activists said Mumbai residents had hit the streets following 26/11 attacks demanding police reforms but six years has gone by and nothing significant happened. In the name of reforming, they alleged, authorities just tried to procure AK-47s and circumvented Supreme Court directives on police reforms.

Two NGOs — Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative  and Police Reforms Watch— have now come up with the manifesto on police reforms, which they want political parties to adopt. “Turning ‘police force’ into police service is that all we want. Can better policing be an election agenda,” they said in a statement.

Demanding better policing, they asked: “Are our women and children safe? Have custodial deaths stopped? Do police have adequate staff and is proper infrastructure in place? Do police still spend more time for VIP duties than regular duties and much more?”

Ending misuse of police personnel for non-policing work and separation of investigation from law and order functions are among the demands listed in the “Manifesto for Better Policing in Maharashtra — Ten Giant Steps.”

The NGOs also demanded abolishing the use of police personnel as orderlies for any domestic or private personal purpose by police officers of all ranks besides use of police personnel as personal security guards.