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Deal with errant police sternly

Last Updated 30 July 2021, 21:39 IST

Bengaluru police have launched a drive against the drug menace in the city which is commendable, but complaints of people being ‘fixed’ either to meet targets or to extort money, are a matter of grave concern. In the first case, a woman inspector and three of her colleagues were suspended after forcing a street vendor to smoke ganja, subsequently subjecting him to a medical test and then booking him under the stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act after he refused to pay a bribe. The victim and his friend were picked up from outside their house in Goraguntepalya and made to spend the entire night in the police station though they had not committed any crime. When one of them was released, the other was detained and fixed in a false case though he pleaded that he did not have any money to pay as his groundnut business had gone bust during the lockdown. The incident came to light when the victim attempted suicide unable to bear the humiliation and harassment. In another case, the Anti-Corruption Bureau is investigating a complaint by a cloth merchant that the Konankunte police threatened to book him and his friends as absconders in an unrelated ganja case, after he could pay only part of the Rs 4 lakh bribe demanded to release his car which was seized earlier.

Such incidents dent the credibility of the police and they may be viewed with suspicion even when a real drug peddler is nabbed. The police, however, need to be complimented for their sustained campaign against drugs in the past few months leading to the arrest of over 5,000 people and seizure of drugs worth over Rs 50 crore across the state. Unlike in the past, the police have targeted not just peddlers but the supply chain itself by raiding suspected courier companies and other conduits. Last year too, the police had launched a similar crusade leading to the arrest of two Kannada actresses, but the so-called big fish remained elusive and with most of the accused being released on bail, the whole episode turned out to be a mere media spectacle.

The recent incidents of excesses and over-reach, including brutalities during the lockdown, custodial torture and extortion only indicate there are many rogue elements within the Karnataka police force who need to be identified and weeded out. Unfortunately, the failure of the top brass to initiate strong deterrent action has only encouraged such police personnel to continue with their errant behaviour. Unless corrective steps are taken immediately, the public will lose even what little confidence they have in the police.

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(Published 30 July 2021, 19:31 IST)

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