Who will guard the guards??

By | July 26, 2005

This post is inspired by the recent happenings all around us. The BREVIEW series will shortly follow.

Consider the following three incidents:
1. London, UK : Scotland Yard’s Anti terrorism cell shoots down a suspect suicide bomber, only to discover later that he was innocent.
2. Kashmir, India: Rashtriya Rifles’ Jawans take down four poeple suspect to be terrorists, only to discover later that they were a part of a marriage party.
3. Gurgaon, India: Haryana Police circles a set of protestors and beat them black & blue.

The three incidents listed above(and the many similar incidents that happen almost daily), indicate that law enforcement agencies around the world are on their nerves, shooting just almost anyone who looks like a terrorist.

The London incident is a really shameful blot on Scotland Yard. Consider this, the “suspect” was shot 5 times at point-blank range, and officers who shot him thought he was a suicide bomber coz he was wearing a heavy overcoat on a hot day, and took an “unusual route” into the train. I can’t comment on the unusual route, but if you shoot someone at point blank range, it means that you could have avoided the shooting also.

So is the Kashmir incident. Did the RR guys even once try to stop those people & search them, maybe that would have saved 4 lives? Or is it that being trigger-happy can solve the problem of terrorism?

The third incident is what happened yesterday, and has shaken my faith in the law enforcement agency, that calls itself “Police”. Does being a policeman means you can round people up and beat them like hell?? Yes, the mob had gone unruly, but then its the job of the police to control the mob, not to remove their frustration by beating them up?? The job of the police is to “PROTECT”, but they seem to think that their job is to dominate, not protect. Of course, their are honest policeman, whom every Indian must be proud of, but it is incidents like these that shakes the common man’s perception of the law enforcement agencies..

There may be an opinion, that says, “Hey, every war has some collateral damage”. Yes, but try explaining it to the mother of that innocent brazilian, shot 5 times, by people supposed to protect him.

His mistake: Wearing a thick coat on a hot day……

6 thoughts on “Who will guard the guards??

  1. Somu

    Ashish,

    Nice question. And guess it would be difficult to answer the question.

    Police are there for the public and if there is anything that can create unrest amongst civilians, they have the authority to take action, even if it means having to lathi charge on protesters. Am not justifying their act. But are we looking at the bigger picture ?

    The cordon of security that the prime minister has, can shoot an intruder while the PM is going on rounds in his car “without having to ask a question”. Here they act in the best interest of the nation. But an intruder might have only been an innocent bypasser.

    I do condemn the Brazilian murder. But after having had a series of bomb blasts, I can imagine the onus on SY to be proactive !

    Reply
  2. Nupur

    It is a shame… not just these incidents but all violent stuff happenening in so many places around the world!!!
    People dying like flies!

    What is the world coming down to?

    Reply
  3. soumya

    hmm..
    i have never felt proud of my police
    i hate their sight, their way of talking, etc etc(list is endless)
    it is jungle out here man where only power rules
    law is enforced only on weak
    come to live in WEST UP or BIHAR if u doubt my statements

    Reply
  4. Goan Pao

    well I sympathise with the relatives of the deceased..not that my sypathies will help them in anyway..still…

    but I must say what if the man in the coat was really a bomber…after all police men as you call them are still men…as in humans..they didnt shoot the people because of some sought of bias..it was just a reaction based on events that occured earlier..

    Im not condoning the act..but someone saying I dont like the police, is no way to pu up your feelings for a man who tries to protect you on minimum wage….

    There must be some restraint though on the powers given to these men..after all they are still human and should not be treated above the law…

    Reply
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