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Delhi

6 cops end life in 3 months: Is Delhi Police looking the other way?

It seems that the Delhi Police, which promises “With you, For you”, is not with and for their own staff as most of the time the problems faced by the men in uniform are ignored and if some of them choose to end their lives, the department is least bothered. In the last three months, six constables have ended their lives.

In the recent past, the number of suicides committed by policemen in the Capital has gone up drastically, but the department is yet to maintain a record.  No study, ascertaining the reasons that drive police personnel to take the extreme step, has been conducted for over a decade. According to a police source, the last such study was conducted in 2003.

“Had a routine study of suicides by police personnel been conducted, steps to check these would have been taken by now. But no such initiative has been taken by the department, which faces acute staff crunch. Some of the problems police personnel face are extra duty hours and least leaves, to name a few,” said a retired senior policeman, requesting anonymity.  It is shocking that the Delhi Police, which maintain data of all sorts of crime that takes place in the city, does not have a record of the number of suicide or suicide bids by staff in uniform.

Taj Hassan, special commissioner of police (Crime) and also the chief spokesperson of Delhi Police, confirmed that there is no such data. However, he adds that the number of their cases are included in the total number of suicides being reported from the Capital.

In 2015, 1,845 people ended their lives in Delhi, of which 648 were women. In 2014, 2,095 committed suicide, of which 671 were women. The data for 2016 (till date) has not been compiled as of now. The total number of suicide cases includes police personnel, who ended their lives. A senior police official said policemen mainly took the extreme step due to marital and family problems, financial issues and work-related stress.

“To distress police personnel, the Delhi Police organise a Sampark Sabha, headed by a DCP or Joint CP-rank officer, every month at all police stations. In this meeting, police personnel are suggested steps to cope up with their problems. Also, those in distress  can meet Special CP (crime) once a week without an appointment. Police personnel can directly meet the Commissioner of Police,” said a senior officer.

Suicide cases
  •    AUGUST: A 41-year-old constable allegedly hanged himself at the disaster management control office in North-West Delhi’s Prashant Vihar area
  •   AUGUST: A constable jumped on Metro tracks at the Patel Chowk metro station. He succumbed to his injuries in a hospital
  •   JULY: Apparently depressed over illness, a constable allegedly committed shot himself with his service pistol
  •   JUNE: A 40-year-old constable hanged himself in his house in Jahangirpuri
  •   JUNE: A police constable allegedly hung himself in his barrack in the Lahori Gate area of North Delhi
  •    JUNE: A constable was found dead inside a police booth at the Roshanara Road in the Subzi Mandi area of North Delhi
Points to note
  •   83,000 is Delhi Police’s sanctioned staff strength
  •   78,000 is the total number of police personnel
  •   10 to 12 hours is the work duration for personnel at police stations
  •   14 to 16 hours is the work duration for those on field
  •   Each police personnel is given a 13-month salary annually, allowance for uniform and residence
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