THIS DM doesn’t lord over the district but holds sway over the police station he ‘surveys’.
This ‘DM’ is the Duty Munshi (a constable) posted at each police station in the district. If you are searching for his alter ego then run into the ‘CRK Babu’ or the Confidential Record Keeper. The CRK is an cop of the assistant sub-inspector’s rank and serve with the Police Office in each districts of the State.
What if the DM and the CRK babus belong to the lower rung of the police corp, they enjoy no less importance than the top cops in the district police. The constables may ignore SSP, DIG, IG or even the DGP but they always ensure keeping the policemen on these two ‘coveted’ posts in good humour.
While the ‘CRK Babu’ deals with each and every document related to the service of a constable and the head constable, the ‘DM’ assigns duties to the constables on various picket points and patrolling in the respective police station area daily.
When asked about the ‘worth’ of the CRK and the DM, two constables deputed on picket duty at a crossing in trans-Gomti area explained, “Dono hi khoon choosne ki machine hai. Dekhiye bhai saheb police hote hue police wale ko hi ghoos dena padta hai. agar kuch kamana hai to inko to khush rakhna hi padega (Both are bloodsuckers. We are policemen but have to bribe our own men. If we have to earn something then we have to make them happy).”
They further explained that the ‘CRK Babu’ threatens them with not making entry of reward-earning remarks in their character roll (CR), which ultimately hampers their promotion prospects. They referred to a recent instance to prove their point. Sometimes, the CRK also changes the remarks depending on the ‘necessity’ of the candidate. During the inter-department examination for sub-inspectors, they revealed, the role of the ‘CRK Babu’ was not above board.
{{/usCountry}}They further explained that the ‘CRK Babu’ threatens them with not making entry of reward-earning remarks in their character roll (CR), which ultimately hampers their promotion prospects. They referred to a recent instance to prove their point. Sometimes, the CRK also changes the remarks depending on the ‘necessity’ of the candidate. During the inter-department examination for sub-inspectors, they revealed, the role of the ‘CRK Babu’ was not above board.
{{/usCountry}}Recently, when the constables and the head constables were taking the examination, there were 100 marks for good CRs. For these aspirants, greasing the palms of CRKs was the easiest way to success.
In this way (and more), the ‘DMs’ on an average earn Rs 500 to 1000 daily depending on the ‘points’ of a police station. A major part of his ‘earning’ goes to the in-charge of the respective police station every week, they revealed.
Arrogant to the hilt, the DMs lose no opportunity to harass constables who fail to keep them in good humour. So defiance of DMs’ wish means banishment in the name of emergency duty outside the district.