A crisis of image

Manju Ramanan / TNN / Oct 14, 2005, 21:14 IST

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'Even when a police officer is a 'bad man', it is a good cop who catches the bad one after all'.

'Even when a police officer is a 'bad man', it is a good cop who catches the bad one after all'.
A cop paws a tribal woman and the act is caught by a hidden camera. A small child is hung from a tree and hit by cops and again a hidden camera captures the heinous deed.
With reality shows on air which often deal with corruption and perversion in the force �� are the men in uniform facing a crisis of image? Or do people still have faith in this particular 'arm' of the law?
Vadodara's Police Commissioner Deepak Swaroop predictably defends the force."We have had some very distinguished officers who have played a significant role in checking crimes. But the media never focuses on them.

I agree that miscreants are part of all professions and the police should accept criticism. But they should be heard too. The police's side of the story should also be given importance," he says.
Tribal activist Ganesh Devy however, doesn't find such a defence amusing. "The police force has become a butt of jokes. People are beginning to pity them rather than fear them.
There have been suicides among the lower ranks thanks to work pressure and very bad salaries and today the darogas and hawaldaars have the sympathy of the people."

Criminal lawyer Sultan Sheikh agrees. "The police have important power and it is an open secret that a police complaint can be tampered with. Today the common man fears the police whereas ideally it should be the wrong-doers who have to fear them."
But Shakti Anand, who hosts one such reality show, however, begs to differ. "Almost all my heroes are policemen. Because even when the police are the 'bad men', it is the good cop who catches the bad one after all!" he says.
Actor Sanjay Suri agrees that giving the entire force a bad name because of a few bad men, is unfair. "One should not generalise. The morale of the department takes a beating when a case of a cop involved in a rape happens.
So while it is right to expose the guilty, it is important that we give them a pat on the back if they have delivered," he says. Time to take a fresh look at the cop standing in the heat on a 12-hour duty?
manju.ramanan@timesgroup.com

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