Nagpur station heads say senior officer is harassing them for favours

Nagpur: Several police station heads and other officers in the city police force say they are being harassed by a senior officer they refer to as "saheb". This officer has been ignoring Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangare Patil's strict policy and issuing new orders every day that are troubling station heads and other officers. Citizens who are victims of fraud are bearing the biggest brunt of these latest orders, with cases not being registered despite repeated visits to the police station.

Cases of fraud are rising sharply in the city. Every police station receives five to six fraud complaints daily. Many complaints are settled at the police station level itself, with complainants told the matter is a civil dispute and advised to go to court. Cases that are serious in nature, or where the victim keeps up pressure on the police, are registered. A fraud case is investigated at the police station level and then sent to the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) for approval. Only after the DCP's approval is a fraud case registered. This procedure is followed at all police commissionerates in the state. But the senior officer recently issued an order that station heads must, after getting permission from the DCP, also mark their attendance with him. Most station heads were already familiar with the officer's pattern of issuing such orders and, being aware of the rules and procedure, did not respond. This angered the officer, who began venting at station heads in different ways, including threatening to spoil their service records. Since taking on this officer was not seen as wise, most station heads fell silent, while some narrated their ordeal to senior officials.

Not just the station heads but their seniors too are troubled by this officer's stubborn attitude. Seeing this, many station heads have found it safer to simply meet his "demands". Those who are avoiding doing so are worried about facing trouble. The biggest cost of this officer's high-handed orders has fallen on fraud victims, who are running from pillar to post between station heads and other officers to get their cases registered on time, without getting any satisfactory response. In North Nagpur, a victim who was not satisfied with a station head's response and approached a senior officer was reportedly rebuffed rather than helped. This officer has long been a source of trouble for subordinate officers. At one time, officers who bore the burden of paying for his and his family members' air travel were left exhausted. A woman officer was reportedly asked to bring a pair of sunglasses worth 70,000 rupees. A station head was asked for an iPhone. Officers have also reportedly been made to pay for club parties on several occasions. Despite station heads being part of the "system", the officer has now also set a "target" for the Detection Branch (DB) team. Due to his tainted image, a former police commissioner had also acted against this officer in the past, but with him now active again, there is talk that the effect of that action has worn off.