The Indian police has a huge image problem. Unlike the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth, and most of Europe – where the police is respected by the law abiding citizen and feared by the underworld – the opposite is true of our policemen.
One major reason for this distressing phenomenon is the tardy response of the police to crime – including its wilful suppression compounded by the bonhomie of cops with the ‘undesirables’ in society. Very few people dare to go into police stations seeking help.
Archaic Method of Evidence Collection
Lack of transparency in investigation is a legacy of the past. This is in sharp contrast with the practice of audio/video recordings of witnesses and crime suspects by the UK Police. In India such a procedure is despised because of the belief that the statement of a witness or suspect should be shaped such that it meets the needs of the case at any stage of the investigation.
This is deplorable and illegal; the Criminal Procedure Code mandates the writing of a case diary each day at the end of investigation. Everything is shrouded in mystery until a case goes to court on a final report.
It is not just anxiety over maintaining confidentiality which persuades an investigator to be cagey, it is also dishonesty as well as a willingness to accommodate an illegal political directive, which encourages police surreptitiousness.
Tryst With Technology
One common complaint is that an average Indian policeman is averse to technology and is fond of ‘third degree’ to extract crucial information relevant to a crime. This is only partly true.
There is growing evidence of the police personnel making an effort towards becoming technology savvy. The use of computers and social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter has increased tremendously.
The Bengaluru Commissioner of Police tells me he has 500,000 followers on Twitter. This ensures uninterrupted inputs from the public which is extremely valuable to investigation. Nevertheless resorting to strong-arm tactics to fish out information has not yet been given up even by ace investigators. This is despite the conviction of delinquent policemen for torture of crime suspects.
Finally Evolving?
- Unlike UK, the non-admissibility of audio-video recording as
evidence in India leaves space for manipulation in the written statement by the
police.
- Indian police is starting to adopt new
technology, evident from its response to public on social media.
- Loopholes in certain
provisions of law encourages illegal custody in police stations and torture.
- Quality of crime
investigation is dependent on the calibre of police personnel.
- Recruitment of police personnel
is unfortunately mired in red tape leading to the induction of inefficient
people.
Illegal Detention
Our police history is littered with many unsavoury episodes, including the torture camps run by Kerala CID in the 1970s, and the Bhagalpur (Bihar) blinding of prisoners about the same time.
This leads me on to the well-known practice of off-the-record custody of suspects. Our Criminal Procedure Code bristles with many impractical prescriptions. The most prominent of these is the requirement that when a suspect is picked up for interrogation, he should be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of being taken into custody. Thereafter, any attempt to continue to hold him in custody for questioning, will have to be with magisterial permission, which is given sparingly, and for a few days only.
This provision encourages illegal custody in police stations or other police facilities, and torture. Not many policemen understand that any information obtained through torture is invariably false, and, even where facts secured are genuine, the person parting with them is likely to go back on them while deposing before a magistrate. This is why many cases fail in court.
Relics of the Past
One legal provision that is often talked about in the context of the inability of the police to successfully prosecute an offender is the stipulation, that no confession made to a police officer is admissible as evidence (Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act). This is a legacy of British rule, and many human rights activists are averse to any move to eliminate this.
The latter feel that a scrapping of this embargo will lead to gross human rights abuses by the police. Thanks to developments on the terrorism front, some state statutes like MCOCA ( Section 18 (1) ) in Maharashtra have relaxed this ban to an extent, by making confessions made to senior police officers (of the rank of Supdt. of Police and above) admissible as evidence. This has pushed up the quality of investigation, at least in terror cases, at least slightly.
Recruitment of Police Officers
Ultimately, the quality of crime investigation will depend heavily on the calibre of the police. It is a tragedy that recruitment to the police is mired in corruption in quite a few states. All inductions are centralised at the level of the Chief Minister’s office, and anyone who has not been approved at this level can never find a place in the final list. This is shameful, but embarrassingly true.
Mind you, this is not political wrongdoing alone. Many senior and junior police officers involved in the selection process have been guilty of corruption. If a recruit has had to pay his way through, he necessarily tries to recover his money by participating in dishonest practices very early in his career.This explains, at least partly, the morass in which the Indian police finds itself.
An upgrade in police personnel is possible through enlightened police and political leadership. For this to happen, there should first be an admission that policing is a profession as much as medicine or law, and it cannot be tinkered with. Wihtout this the police system in our country will remain stagnant and corrupt. The media can play a significant role by motivating the honest policeman and denouncing the dishonest in no uncertain terms.
(The writer is a former CBI Director.)
This is the final and concluding part of series on what ails crime investigation in India. You can read the first part here.
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