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'We need educated police personnel'
Maheshwar Dayal, joint commissioner of police, tells Hindustan Times how has Gurgaon police tackled crime, chain-snatchers and lighting on the roads in the city. What police should do
Q: What have the police done so far to tackle crimes committed on dark and secluded stretches in the city?
When it comes to cases in which mostly women are at the receiving end, we immediately register complaints. All crimes reported from such places have been solved. We have busted auto-rickshaw gangs that used to loot commuters apart from busting a gang of laptop snatchers. We have taken care of deserted areas near villages and have deployed PCR vans accordingly.
Q: What about the deployment of police personnel and patrolling of these stretches? Any special deployment?
We have constituted five PCR teams with only women police personnel. Three of them have been deployed in the eastern and two in the western region of the city. Now, women in the city feel more comfortable reporting cases as they deal with female police staff. Besides, five to six women police officers are attached with each PCR van in two shifts.
Q: Poor lighting on the city roads is essentially a municipal problem. Have the police asked the Huda and MCG to take care of the issue?
Yes, we have tried to keep them in the loop and have engaged them at the highest level. On their part, they have been receptive.
Q: Do you think criminal activities increase during night?
Yes, of course. I have found that at 3am, no one can keep up the same alacrity of mind as in the day, especially when a person is exhausted after working in the day. So miscreants use this human frailty to strike at night and take advantage of darkness. Also, petty crimes take place frequently during night as the fear of identification is less.
Q: What do you think is the Achilles' heel of Gurgaon Police?
See, we are understaffed. We should be given manpower proportionate to either population or crime ratio or in consonance with the number of criminal cases registered. Also, we need more educated police personnel in the force so that a presentable picture of the department can be proffered to the residents.
(As told to Leena Dhankhar and Siddharhtha Rai)
