Cops and rampages

There is more to this story than a vindictive government targeting one defenceless whistleblower. On Monday, this newspaper highlighted the troubles of Jaskaran Singh Brar, who took the government to court over the appointments of DSPs. His father and brother were arrested by the vigilance department on a startlingly flimsy charge; other relatives and friends have faced intimidation. Brar8217;s case may be only one episode in a larger drama of abuse of power, now playing in Punjab. The Amarinder Singh government8217;s pursuit of private vendettas at public expense can no longer be ignored.

After he came to power, Singh set about on what he promised would be an anti-corruption drive. It didn8217;t take long for the fig leaves to fall away from what turned out to be an unrestrained campaign against a political opponent. Singh8217;s attempts to deploy state resources to corner Parkash Singh Badal add up to one of the more unedifying chapters in Punjab8217;s political saga. They also appeared to set the tone for an administration that has since threatened to fritter away all its enthusiasms in conducting purges. Bureaucrats perceived to be close to the earlier regime were transferred, former ministers and local level leaders of the Akali party were reportedly harrassed, particularly in the run up to the SGPC elections. Most disturbingly, the Punjab Police has come to resemble a private army.

Never known for its respect for due process, there are indications that the Punjab Police needs to be policed more than ever before. The Punjab Human Rights Commission has revealed that it has received a record 7,603 complaints against the force in the last nine months alone. The grim statistic confirms reports that have steadily piled up in recent months 8212; of a force emerging as the leading arbiter in land and property disputes by means more foul than fair; of Punjab police teams increasingly crossing the state8217;s borders to flex their muscles in 8216;8216;outstation cases8217;8217;; of Punjab cops abjectly withdrawing the case against Daler Mehndi after confessing there was no case at all. Or of the police obediently going after Jaskaran Brar8217;s friends and family now. What is happening in Punjab must worry everyone. In a democracy, the spectre of deinstitutionalisation is the scariest one.