A 42-year-old constable was mowed down when he tried to stop a mini truck driven by suspected criminals in Bharat Nagar in north-west Delhi on Friday morning.
Naresh Kumar Verma’s head was crushed under its wheels, killing him on the spot. Three days earlier, a head constable was shot dead and his colleague injured in an attack by unidentified men while they were investigating a case in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
At least 60 policemen — 90 per cent of them constables or head constables — have lost their lives in the line of duty in the last five years. In 2010 alone, 14 were killed.
“God knows how many hours of duty we do in a month. But I can tell you that sometimes, a week passes by before I get to speak to my children. When I reach home late they are asleep, and by the time I wake up they have left for school. In my job as a constable, we consider 16 hours of duty as normal. It is a tough job and even a roadside hawker has a better life then us. We cannot even quit as it would be difficult to get a job at this age,” said a 41-year-old head constable from IP Estate police station.
The grievances mentioned by him are just the tip of the iceberg. A peek into the daily routine of lower rung police officials can only invite sympathy. Constables and head constables cut a sorry figure, and almost all of them seem to hate their job. Why?
Working odd and long working hours, earning low wages, risking their lives, making enemies, receiving abuses from seniors for small mistakes, and serving the bosses’ families while keep their own waiting and unhappy — the 42,300 constables and head constables in Delhi Police are a harassed, stressed out lot.
The police’s job is to maintain law and order and prevent crime. But to attain this objective, reformation and modernisation of the force at the ground level is imperative. Turning a blind eye to dismal service conditions of these men is a grave mistake.
Odd, long working hours
A beat constable wakes up at 6 am and after a briefing at 9 am at the police station, he heads towards his area, where he interact with vendors, hawkers and informers. He checks banks, jewellery shops and important buildings on his beat. He makes a list of doubtful characters, meets resident welfare association members and senior citizens, and carries out regular patrolling at parks and religious places. But there is more to a constable’s day.
He also has to visit the local court if an old case in which he is an investigative officer, along with a senior sub-inspector or inspector level officer, is coming up. Then he is back again in his area.
“On a normal day, we might get a call about a fight between two groups or a pickpocketing case. It takes another two to three hours to investigate such a case and get it registered at the police station,” said a constable posted at Malviya Nagar police station.
He said if a crime happens in his area, his seniors pull him up. “If something big happens, at least five of us have to rush to the spot and we never know how long it would take. No senior is bothered whether we have slept even for an hour,” he said.
Policemen feel that a proper shift system should be worked out for them – like the one they have in Tihar jail. “A good administrator can make this happen,” said a head constable posted at Nabi Karim.
Hardly any weekly offs
After working for long hours, policemen can’t even be sure of getting one day off in a week. Quite often, their regular weekly off day gets cancelled due to something urgent — a VVIP might be coming to their area, there could be a rally, or a heinous crime.
Public ire
Beat constables are the core of policing. They have to interact with local residents on a day-to-day basis, and often they face their anger. A beat constable posted at Shakarpur police station said, “I was standing near a shop for half an hour. Suddenly, the owner came and questioned why I was standing in front of his shop. He asked me to leave. I left and went to another place. But within an hour I got a call that a snatching had taken place outside his shop. I rushed to the spot, only to face public ire,” he said.
It's worse when they are posted at a police picket. “When we stop a car to check documents, they straightaway start abusing us and make calls to senior officials in some ministries or in our department,” said a Kamla Market head constable.
Low wages
At the time of joining the force, a constable gets a net salary of between Rs 17,000 and Rs 18,000 per month. Five years down the line, he would get Rs 21,000 per month if he is not allotted a government accommodation.
A shocking part is that they get just Rs 75 as bicycle allowance and Rs 75 for cleaning their uniform. “Not everyone gets a wireless set. Those who don’t have it have to make calls continuously to report to seniors. But we don’t get a phone allowance,” said another constable.
Risk to life
Low wages come with high risk, as recent cases of attacks against policemen show. “We take risks. We don’t know what will happen on any given day,” said a head constable from Karol Bagh station.
Better facilities
New technology has helped police keep up with criminals. The mobility of criminals has been matched by new patrol cars and advanced communication systems. Analysis of the nature of crimes has allowed police to take preventive measures. But focus is also needed on improving the lives of constables and head constables.
“We are working to provide better facilities for the constabulary. We are building a residential complex with schools, shopping areas and community facilities for them. This is being seen as a huge step that will boost the motivational levels of the force,” said Dharmendra Kumar, Special Commissioner of Police (law and order).
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