Khaki under fire
2 Jan 2015 3:51 AM IST
On the same day last year, Delhi Police was mourning the death of a police constable, who was allegedly shot dead by a liquor mafia. If only they could have known that the year ahead awaited more cops laying down lives on the line of duty. The question which arises here is: how should this crisis, if one may call it so, be controlled in 2015.
There is a special drill for everything that involves picketing and questioning suspects in the night hour. Many a times, cops have injured themselves failing to follow the prescribed drill and quite a few incidents this year has been a result of that that, said another senior police official seeking anonymity.
He further said that some incidents are totally unavoidable, like the recent case of officials in picketing duty getting crushed by an SUV which was being driven by an inebriated driver or cases where officials have become victims of road rage and accidents.
But the drill was definitely not followed in the Vijay Vihar incident (October 2014), in which one constable was killed and another critically injured after being shot at by a group of alleged burglars roaming in the area on the wee hours of the day. “The accused should have been asked to come out of the vehicle one after another and frisked by one cop. During the frisking, the other cop should have lay a vigil and be alert enough,” said the official. He further said, instead the cops asked them to take an auto-rickshaw to the police station and boarded the vehicle on its two flanks. They were shot midway.
Similarly, in the Zafrabad incident (July 2014), although it was brave of the cop, Shiv Tomar, to have chased the criminal through the narrow lanes with no back up, it is not the standard procedure. He was shot dead and after around one month, the alleged history-sheeter who shot him was killed in a police encounter.
“The job of a police official is inherently hazardous. Even if one is adequately armed, nobody knows who might get harmed,” said Taj Hassan, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime). He further said, the police should follow proper drills with utmost precaution in the future and that is the only way this crisis can be tackled.
When asked whether cops getting killed is something new, former cop Maxwel Pareira said: “No, it is
not, especially cops who are stationed at the city borders and pickets. There is a long history of cops getting killed. This problem can only be tackled by simultaneously controlling crime – which is rising many-fold in the national capital presently – and raising alertness.”
Highlights
June 14: A 24-year-old traffic cop died trying to enforce rules on a road in west Delhi. constable Mana Ram leapt onto the bonnet of a car in a bid to stop it from entering a no-go zone. He was dragged for 150 metres before being crushed under the wheels at the Zakhira flyover area.
July 14: Constable Shiv Tomar was shot dead by two history-sheeters after a chase through the narrow lanes of Jaffrabad.
Sept 26: Constable Dharampal (26) was shot dead by two bike-borne men at Zafrabad. He was conducting routine arms verification exercise. the case still remains unsolved.
October 10: three men had opened fire on two constables in Connaught Place area. No one was injured in the incident and one of the attackers was arrested.
October 13: A Delhi Police constable, Jagbir, was killed while another, named Narendra, was seriously injured when some persons opened fire on the policemen who had confronted them on finding their activities suspicious in the early hours in Outer Delhi’s Vijay Vihar.
December 14: A speeding vehicle rammed into a police barricade set near the Okhla Barrage in Kalindi Kunj. It crushed to death two police officials and left another critically injured. The driver was in an inebriated and even carrying a bottle of liquor in his car. He was immediately arrested. While ASI Nagender Pal Singh (52) and Constable Sawarkar Prahlad Ramrao (41) died on spot, Constable Kaptan Singh (52) is battling for life.
There is a special drill for everything that involves picketing and questioning suspects in the night hour. Many a times, cops have injured themselves failing to follow the prescribed drill and quite a few incidents this year has been a result of that that, said another senior police official seeking anonymity.
He further said that some incidents are totally unavoidable, like the recent case of officials in picketing duty getting crushed by an SUV which was being driven by an inebriated driver or cases where officials have become victims of road rage and accidents.
But the drill was definitely not followed in the Vijay Vihar incident (October 2014), in which one constable was killed and another critically injured after being shot at by a group of alleged burglars roaming in the area on the wee hours of the day. “The accused should have been asked to come out of the vehicle one after another and frisked by one cop. During the frisking, the other cop should have lay a vigil and be alert enough,” said the official. He further said, instead the cops asked them to take an auto-rickshaw to the police station and boarded the vehicle on its two flanks. They were shot midway.
Similarly, in the Zafrabad incident (July 2014), although it was brave of the cop, Shiv Tomar, to have chased the criminal through the narrow lanes with no back up, it is not the standard procedure. He was shot dead and after around one month, the alleged history-sheeter who shot him was killed in a police encounter.
“The job of a police official is inherently hazardous. Even if one is adequately armed, nobody knows who might get harmed,” said Taj Hassan, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime). He further said, the police should follow proper drills with utmost precaution in the future and that is the only way this crisis can be tackled.
When asked whether cops getting killed is something new, former cop Maxwel Pareira said: “No, it is
not, especially cops who are stationed at the city borders and pickets. There is a long history of cops getting killed. This problem can only be tackled by simultaneously controlling crime – which is rising many-fold in the national capital presently – and raising alertness.”
Highlights
June 14: A 24-year-old traffic cop died trying to enforce rules on a road in west Delhi. constable Mana Ram leapt onto the bonnet of a car in a bid to stop it from entering a no-go zone. He was dragged for 150 metres before being crushed under the wheels at the Zakhira flyover area.
July 14: Constable Shiv Tomar was shot dead by two history-sheeters after a chase through the narrow lanes of Jaffrabad.
Sept 26: Constable Dharampal (26) was shot dead by two bike-borne men at Zafrabad. He was conducting routine arms verification exercise. the case still remains unsolved.
October 10: three men had opened fire on two constables in Connaught Place area. No one was injured in the incident and one of the attackers was arrested.
October 13: A Delhi Police constable, Jagbir, was killed while another, named Narendra, was seriously injured when some persons opened fire on the policemen who had confronted them on finding their activities suspicious in the early hours in Outer Delhi’s Vijay Vihar.
December 14: A speeding vehicle rammed into a police barricade set near the Okhla Barrage in Kalindi Kunj. It crushed to death two police officials and left another critically injured. The driver was in an inebriated and even carrying a bottle of liquor in his car. He was immediately arrested. While ASI Nagender Pal Singh (52) and Constable Sawarkar Prahlad Ramrao (41) died on spot, Constable Kaptan Singh (52) is battling for life.
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