Activists call for better police-public relations in C'garh

With rise in complaints against police personnel in Chhattisgarh, the demand for reforms to improve police-public bond in the insurgency hit-state has been gaining ground.
"The relationship between police and people can never be so friendly. However, certain reforms are needed to be made in policing as well as laws to develop a positive police-people relation," Gautam Bandopadhyay, a civil rights activist, told PTI.
As per a recent data released by NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau), Chhattisgarh witnessed 1,960 complaints (of various nature) against its police personnel last year and had reported 1,918 complaints in 2012.
The state holds the seventh position in complaints lodged against its police personnel in 2013, trailing Madhya Pradesh (9,297), Maharashtra (7,280), Uttar Pradesh (4,086), Punjab (3,468) and Rajasthan (3,252) and Kerala (3,116).

Notably, the state has been ranked at the top position jointly with Uttar Pradesh in the conviction of police personnel in different cases.
"The government should look upon it seriously, as the figure which is available with NCRB is borrowed from police manual. There may be several such instances in remote areas which are not reported," Bandopadhyay said.

As many as nine police personnel were convicted in both Chhattisgarh and UP last year, followed by Maharashtra (7), Punjab and Madhya Pradesh (5) and Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh (4), as per the NCRB data.
Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan convener Alok Shukla also says that there is a strong need to bring changes in the policing concept, to establish a good understanding between the law enforcement body and the common man.

"Increasing cases against police personnel does not reflect a good picture of policing in the state," Shukla said.
"Since post independence we have been following the laws laid down by Britishers. We have to bring changes in the entire concept, then only the law enforcement body would be able to maintain a good understanding with people," he said.