Political meddling affecting riots probe, lament cops

Nagpur: After 40 cops were injured in the stone-pelting by mobsters on March 17, the police probe into the 13 riot cases are being hindered by political interference thus affecting the investigations, sources said.As the cops try to restore normalcy in the city, their morale has been affected with unwanted interferences, and purposefully hindering the probe to prevent their acquaintances from being investigated for their role in the riots. With more than 1,200 accused booked, the cops are saddled with an uphill task to identify the rioters and bring them to justice."In the already challenging probes, the political leaders are just adding to the confusion and creating a hurdle. Every leader wants the police to relieve the persons whom they know directly or indirectly. If we try to explain, the leaders blame us for high-handedness and vested interests," said a lamenting senior cop on the condition of anonymity. "After cops explain their position to one leader, another turns up, this stonewalling the process. The leaders are forcing us to release the suspects. How can we render justice and conduct fair probes this way?" said the seasoned officer.Sources stated that political leaders have been either calling up the top cops or stepping into the police stations to interfere with the ongoing investigations. The undue interference in the cases have become so overwhelming that many investigations have been shifted out of the local police stations to place them under officers from the crime branch who are located elsewhere.Sources said a prominent leader barged into a police station on Friday with hordes of supporters to berate the cops for arresting accused individuals from a certain community for their involvement in the arson, attacks on police, and also members of the opposite camp. The leader also demanded to know how a cop of a particular community can step into the house of another community for investigation.While the cops are trying to nab as many accused as possible in a case where a man was assaulted by a member of another community, they learned they had earned the wrath of the leader who was opposed to the arrest of his supporter community.In yet another police station, a former MLA reached with his supporters to ensure some suspects were released even before the inquiry could be conducted. "Every leader is trying to set his or her own narrative. They would call up the CP in front of us and threaten to lodge a complaint against us," said another officer.In the presence of The Times of India, a leader even attempted to get a suspect released from the cyber police station. Though the cops did not bow down to pressure, they lamented that substantial time for the investigation was lost in unnecessary debates and heated arguments.