Common man's complaints against the men in khaki rise from 48 in 2014 to 290 in 2015, with 170 cases being declared unsubstantial after probe
Illustration/Uday Mohite
The guardians of law have stained their uniform again, at least according to the findings of a report on cases registered against them. According to a report by the Praja Foundation, citizen complaints against city cops have increased from 48 in 2014 to a whopping 290 in 2015. Out of 290 cases last year, policemen involved in 26 cases have been arrested, while 170 cases were declared false or unsubstantial.
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Defunct authority
The state’s Home Department constituted a police complaint authority in 2015 to enable civilians to register complaints against policemen. However, this department still doesn’t have an office to function from. Rather than the department taking action against complaints, it is the commissionerate, which initiates inquiry against the accused officers.
"Police complaint authority has been constituted by Home Department notified on May 25, 2015. It was done in pursuance of Section 22P (2) of the Maharashtra Police (Amendments and Continuance) Act, 2014, which came into force from the February 1, 2014. Even though a committee has been appointed, it has no functioning office for its work," said the report.
Misconduct rose, too
Complaints of misconduct against cops have also risen. In 2014, disciplinary action was initiated against only 37 policemen, out of which, inquiries were conducted in 34 cases, but till the end of the year, no action was taken against the 35 policemen named in the complaints. This changed in 2015, when disciplinary action was initiated against 183 policemen, out of which 114 cops were let off with minor punishment. Forty inquiries are still pending with the top brass. mid-day reached out to the PRO of the Mumbai Police, but they were unavailable for comment.
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