Straight answers

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">A S SAmra</span><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">, Former Mumbai Police Commissioner, On the arrest of police officers in the Ghatkopar bomb blast accused Khwaja Yunus case</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Has the situation in the police force become grim after the arrest of some crime branch officers in the Khwaja Yunus death case?</span><br /><br />The incident is rather unfortunate for the police department.The most important thing in the force is credibility which has come under doubt now. Two wings of one department (Mumbai Police and State CID) are making claims and counter claims. The suspects claim that they are innocent while the CID says that they have evidence against them. The situation should have been dealt with much earlier by the seniors. This reflects poorly on the supervision. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Do you think these arrests will demoralise the force?</span><br /><br />The force gets demoralised if seniors do not execute their role properly. The force must know that those who are doing good job are not targeted. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Do you see an end to special squads as the arrested officers were known for encounters? </span><br /><br />Absolutely not. Everyone cannot arrest dangerous criminals. The moment you confront a criminal, he will fire. Policemen have to save themselves. Moreover, for such traps, you have to collect information and deal with the situation.<br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">The police force has a major grievance that the court procedures take a long time and witnesses turns hostile....</span><br /><br />That''s the problem. The criminal justice system needs to be simplified and made effective so that the criminals are brought to book. The criminals should be scared of the society and the law.<br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">manish.pachouly@timesgroup.com</span></div> </div>