Unimpressive policing in the Rajouri-Poonch range whacked the confidence of people badly; Terrorism, Drugs, Corruption major challenges

Unimpressive policing in the Rajouri-Poonch range whacked the confidence of people badly; Terrorism, Drugs, Corruption major challenges

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH/RAJOURI: Gone are the days when the Rajouri-Poonch range witnessed professional police officers who proved their worth by meeting people’s expectations during the challenging hours of countering various crises. During recent years, the most sensitive Rajouri-Poonch range witnessed unimpressive policing, right from the top level to the police station level.

On the one hand, terrorists and their sympathizers remained busy in the revival of militancy and drug terrorism in the region, but on the other hand, weak intelligence networks in capturing OGWs of anti-national forces and brazen corruption at some police station levels in the region whacked the confidence of common man in policing. Few police officers were found to be involved in open bovine smugglings and solving drug cases by taking hefty amounts from drug peddlers, while others were busy approaching different business houses and other renowned sources for regular monthly shares. Some top officers in important positions also canceled some FIRs under “Malaidaar” influence by murdering the justice system. Even some people were booked in the wrong FIRs, and when the question was raised on the discriminatory acts of police, the horrible answer was received like, “Upar se pressure hai,” and it clearly showed that somebody from outside the region was running the affairs of police by completely overlooking the issue of justice, and those who were given the responsibility by the government to look after the proper policing in the region were seen exploitation of their powers. On the one hand, police claimed to have taken various measures for youth to stay away from drugs by organizing sports activities, but on the other hand, innocent young players were harassed like anything without any reason under the outside influence and it clearly showed the double standard of police.  A few police officers in the region were seen indulging in corrupt activities openly. A senior citizen, pleading anonymity, while talking to “POONCH TODAY”, said, “Kuch officers net toh dariya divide kiya hua hai and wahan se Rs 400 per tractor commission lete hain aur kuch toh big business houses ko direct approach karte hain ki monthly maal doo”. Reports of such acts have decreased the image of the police among the people in the R-P range. On the other hand, the failure of the intelligence network of police in the region to solve the Dhangri attack and the twin BG terrorist attacks raised eyebrows about the workings of top officers who were heading the region in different capacities. Due to inefficient policing in the region, the people have suffered a lot. There are brazen reports of corruption in some well-known police stations in the R-P range, and more such reports from some other police stations and chowkis are coming. Those sitting at the helm of affairs were seen busy building their image of sincerity through their paid sources in fake media platforms.  On the other hand,  when the top brass of police failed to take strong action on corruption at some police stations, questions were also raised about their claims of being sincere. On the positive side, some major achievements against drug terrorism were also achieved by capturing the biggest narcotics haul by the police in addition to the latest capturing of three militants, the other day, but an all-out war against OGWs of anti national forces and to eliminate the drug menace from the root has not been launched yet. Moreover, to please some political leaders, self-styled social workers, and those with nuisance values, PSOs were issued by the police. Even a few political leaders in the region were seen working as commission agents for policing, solving different routine police cases in some police stations. Once the policing in the R-P range in tackling various crimes was raised to a high standard of professionalism by Ashkoor Wani, Rajeev Pandey, Yougal Manhas, and Ramesh Angral during the challenging hours, the region witnessed unimpressive policing during the last few years, and as a result, anti-national and anti-social forces succeeded in their mission to revive terrorism and drug terrorism in the region, and top police officers failed to match the high standard of professionalism set by their predecessors earlier. The presence of top officers in the R-P range was not felt on the ground during these years by the common man as far as tackling various challenges was concerned, which emerged strongly on one or the other front. The recent unsolved terrorist attacks in Dhangri and Bhimber Gali areas have created a wave of fear among the masses due to the inability of the police in the region to bring the culprits to justice. Moreover, a weak intelligence network and reports of corruption at some police station levels without any action from the top brass added fuel to the already burning fire in the minds of the common man. Although the policing in the region remained under a big question mark from a professional point of view, only some traditional sycophants, who are sorry to say called civil society members, self-styled social workers, fake media persons, and members of the “Guldasta gang”, who were having their own self-interests, were seen praising officers as per their past practices. Behind the curtains, they scripted many foul plays against the nation, but on the front side, they played peacemakers and think tanks to hoodwink the police and civil administration. There are also reports that a few police stations in the region have become toll plazas where monetary influence proved heavy over justice with the intervention of those sitting at the top level. The credibility of policing remained very low in the region, and to win back public confidence in policing, the government needs to place dedicated and professionally strong officers from lower to top level in the region to counter various emerging challenges, right from terrorism and drug terrorism to other forms of crimes. It’s an acid test for those who are sitting at the helm of affairs in the police department in the region to come up to the expectations of the people by standing strongly against various types of crimes in addition to providing justice to people on merit at the police station and not on basis of biased approach, arrogance, and corruption to match the high level of benchmark of professional policing set by Ashkoor Wani, Pandey, Yougal, and Angral in the region. If that happened, it would help the police to win back the already whacked confidence of the public in the policing in the most sensitive Rajouri-Poonch range.