To show criminals ‘their actual worth’, police in Uttarakhand announce Rs 5 for 3 wanted men

The Rs 5 reward has been placed on Jasveer Singh of Rudrapur, Manmohan Singh of Dineshpur, and Sahab Singh of Rampur (Uttar Pradesh). The three have been on the run since a violent clash between two groups in Jafarpur village earlier this month, where nearly 40 rounds were fired, leaving eight people injured.

“Whenever there is a crime, to motivate people the police announce large amounts as reward. However, when we do that, the criminals boast about their worth and glorify it. That becomes a status symbol for the criminals, and using that they further extort money from people. To discourage that, and to show them their true worth, we have taken this step,” said Rudrapur SP (City) Manoj Katyal.

When asked whether such a low reward would discourage people from providing information, Katyal clarified that the rewards are primarily intended to motivate police teams for whom the size of the reward is not significant.

Talking to the Indian Express, Udham Singh Nagar SSP Manikant Mishra said that the step was his brainchild. “We want the police actions to bring reforms, but some criminals do not want to change their way of living, and feel proud when a reward is announced for them. Our goal is not just punitive but reformative, and one way to achieve that is by making them feel insignificant. Since declarin6g this reward, I’ve received calls from their relatives saying the Rs 5 reward is deeply embarrassing for them, which was exactly the point,” said Mishra.

Talking to The Indian Express, an author and retired senior IPS officer Rajesh Kumar Pandey, who is also the founding member of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP-STF) and the UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), said that based on his experience, the “social media-oriented approach” is commendable as the reward is used by these criminals to enhance their market value in the world of crime.