HVK Archives: Rule of the jungle in west Bengal
Rule of the jungle in west Bengal - The Times of India
Manojit Mitra
()
6 May 1997
Title : Rule of the jungle in west Bengal
Author : Manojit Mitra
Publication : The Times of India
Date : May 6, 1997
Twenty years of uninterrupted rule by the Left Front government and
the elderly statesman's role being played by Mr Jyoti Basu in national
politics have given West Bengal the distinction of being a
well-administered state, a haven of peace. The ground realities are,
however, far from rosy. There are strong signs of a growing complacence
and insensitivity in the administration, the worst manifestation of
which is the failure of the police machinery to control law and order.
During the debate on the police budget in the state assembly, complaints
against law and order were made not only by the opposition Congress but
even some non-CPI(M) partners of the Front. An RSP member from
Murshidabad district alleged that "the rule of the jungle" prevailed in
his area, to considerable embarrassment of the government because that
is precisely what the Congress always claims.
Crime Graph
The home (police) minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya invoked the argument
always given by Mr Basu, that law and order in West Bengal was better
"compared with what in other states". The chief minister says so
whenever any complaint is made, oblivious of the fallacious nature of
the comparison. He always refers to the crime graphs of Bihar and UP,
but both the states are much larger in size than West Bengal, and
socio-political factors are fundamentally different. West Bengal has no
areas like Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur in UP where dacoity has been
endemic for centuries and vendetta is pursued over generations. Nor
does it have underground outfits like the Naxalite groups in Bihar and
the "senas" raised by different communities which are perpetually at
warfare.
But this time, Mr Bhattacharya could not get away cheaply. He had to
admit that the police had failed to play its role and that the incidence
of murders, dacoities and attacks on women had increased. He was
unhappy and expressed his feelings in clear terms during a visit to the
Lal-bazar police headquarters recently. A series of daring murders and
robberies have occurred recently in the heart of Calcutta, including
affluent localities like Alipur. Among the victims were a classical
musician, a doctor and a forward bloc leader. The murder of a lawyer
provoked protests from the legal community. Though the modus operandi
of the criminals are largely the same, the police have failed to make a
breakthrough in most cases. There is no explanation for the sudden
spurt in crime, except for the simplistic one that some of the hawkers
evicted recently from Calcutta are allegedly involved. But
simultaneously, crime on the railways has gone up alarmingly. Though
Bihar has drawn the glare of publicity in this respect, West Bengal's
record is no better. In the assembly, Mr Bhattacharya has denied that
political interference is responsible for the failure of the police, but
the fact remains that over the two decades of its rule, the Left Front
government, predominantly the CPI(M), has encouraged the police to
believe that staying on its right side is what matters. From the
beginning, the strategy was to politicise and use the force and the rot
set in early on.
By encouraging unionisation, the Left Front government brought a sea
change in the force. When like other government employees, policemen
had their rival unions and, leaders who neglected their duties for
"union work" with unofficial sanction from above, the complexion of the
force changed swiftly. The traditional vices thrived with political
support. In Calcutta as well as in the districts, those manning police
stations sided with local leaders of the ruling parties and enjoyed
political protection in return. Bribery lost its social stigma. At
least 60 per cent of the police stations in the state raise monthly
"tola" from local businessmen and the underworld. This is public
knowledge though impossible to prove. The number of custody deaths
increased alarmingly, the usual plea being that the victim had committed
suicide.
Damaging Setback
The current spurt in crime has exposed the most damaging setback that
the force has suffered over these years - failure of the intelligence
machinery. It is through their contacts in the underworld that the
police keep tabs on gangs and individuals criminals. Calcutta police was
once famous for its sleuthing network which has collapsed completely.
Dacoity, in police parlance, is a "preventable crime" as it takes prior
planning, but the police today have no inkling of what goes on even in
the known pockets of the underworld, nor do they keep track of its
newly-emerging logistics and loyal. ties. The police minister has
announced that 10-member committees would be set up at the thana level
to improve police-public relations, but such cosmetic measures would do
little to refurbish the image of a politicised, corrupt and discredited
force.
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