When the Uniform Exploits

 Illustration: Venla Valve

 

Esha Chanda,

Columnist (Our World)

 

Looked upon as figures of protection, acting as armours for city folks and guarding the society from harm, the police force is presumed to be the shield that watches over society. We sleep peacefully in the night with the thought there is someone out there to watch our backs. But what happens when these men fumble? When they fail to carry out the necessary actions?

Misconduct on the part of police officials have often led to serious misjudgements in numerous cases, whether big or small. Inappropriate actions taken by men with power can often alter the cases to such an extent that it results in grave outcomes. We have witnessed such events in the past and more recently saw the same in the Delhi gang rape case in India. According to reports, upon finding the victim and her friend, the cops discussed about jurisdictions and what were then trifle subjects to argue on. While the more sensible act would have been to get the victims to the nearest hospital, we had policemen standing and debating over petty issues.

While the most recent case highlights the negligence on the part of men in arms, past events will shed light on how powerful men have manoeuvred cases to favour the party that fills in their pockets. Over and over again, we speak about a system clean-up. It’s true that if officials breach laws and opt for undesired means, the common man will follow the same. But more than the system, the views of men who walk down the road require a clean-up. In the moment of trauma and crisis, everyone should have the right to call for an action, not just uniformed men on the crime scene. You cannot have an argument on jurisdiction when two gravely injured humans are lying beside on the road. Their frail bodies do not ask for anything but help then. It’s a miserable world we live in where a passerby fails to aid the ones in need simply because of the belief that they might be roped into the case somehow. It’s not just the cops who need to be quick with their decisions; men walking down the street also should be willing to assist people. The system should be refined in a way that the onlooker doesn’t hesitate to offer help. It’s saddening to know that cars slowed down in front of the injured but didn’t stop because they didn’t want to meddle into something so serious. With the current system, the common man ends up being strangled with loose ends of the police force’s antediluvian methods to approach and solve a case in hand.

If not as a cop, do your act as a citizen of the city. And if not that, do it in the name of humanity. Our society cannot run with guards who argue over petty subjects when helping the needy seems to be the right thing to do. While this is just one case that stirred up the entire nation, there are many unheard ones lurking in the corners of streets across the world where men with power and on duty have failed to initiate the right actions. There are many stories and suspects of manipulation of cases. How can we bring ourselves to trust them when you know that officials might be involved in corrupting cases? And as people belonging to a common society, we need to allow the right ones to rule us. You cannot simply elect a corrupted man for the highest position and then blame everything on the government.

However, everything said and done, we do not deny that there are men who walk among the uniformed army, who put themselves under risk for someone else. They will endanger themselves and their team for a group of unfamiliar faces. They do it because it’s their duty, and it’s only because of such fine officers that there are hundreds of men, women and children thriving in this world. But on the other hand, corrupt officials shame the actions of their just counterparts. The only fate that should await them is to be stripped off their positions which they exploit to no extent.