An RTI application by an NGO has revealed that fatal traffic accidents in the city have reportedly gone up by 80 per cent,while cases of molestation have risen 47 per cent in the past three years. The application also highlighted the gross manpower shortage in the police. While the fact that the Mumbai Police is grossly understaffed is no secret,city-based Praja Foundation quantified the shortfall at almost 19 per cent of the total sanctioned strength. The city reportedly has a sanctioned force of 41,271 personnel whereas the on-duty police personnel are 33,287. The RTI revealed that not just the officers working with law and order are falling short,even the traffic department is facing staff crunch. The traffic police have a shortage of 1,633 personnel,which is almost 49 per cent of the sanctioned strength of 3,353. Nitai Mehta,the founding trustee of Praja Foundation,alleged that the citys crime rates would not come down if there is such a huge shortage of staff. While it was known that the police are understaffed,the RTI has shown that the situation is alarming. We had asked for the RTI for April 2008-March 2011 and the reply shocked us, said Mehta. The RTI also revealed that the city police has an acute shortage of Assistant Police Inspectors (APIs) and Police Sub-Inspectors (PSIs). The APIs and PSIs form the backbone of the city police as they are involved at the grassroots level. They are the ones who go to a crime scene and investigate. We have found that of the sanctioned 1,002 APIs and 3,125 PSIs,only 674 and 1,491 are working respectively, said Mehta. He suggested that the shortage may have led to the spurt in the number of crimes in the city. Crime in the city has gone up according to the RTI. While 1,437 fatal accidents took place in 2008-09,the number shot up to 2,583 in 2010-11. Molestation cases have also increased. Only 105 cases of molestation were reported in the city during 2008-09,whereas 154 have been reported in 2010-11. Mehta said they will write to the Chief Minister to ensure that the shortage of police personnel is filled. They must fill the vacancies on war footing. The city needs to have a strong police force to crack down on crime. We are urging the CM to intervene and ensure that the city has the requisite police personnel, he said. Senior Mumbai Police officers did not wish to comment on the figures released by the NGO.
