PUNE, Jan 31: Tell me how can the rule of law prevail so that we can live peacefully in a civilized society ?,'' asked a worried Julio Ribeiro, India's undisputed former supercop.The police officer, who donned the attire of a crusader in khaki, today wore a face of a dejected common man as he talked on how the public protectors were fast turning into ``criminals in uniform.'' Addressing a modest gathering which comprised his admirers, past colleagues and media persons at a bookstore in the city where he discussed his book Bullet for Bullet - My life as a police officer, the former director general of Punjab police expressed grave concern on the law and order situation in the country, which he said was on the path of collapse.``The police machinery has been politicised. Without this, the criminalisation of politics would not have been possible,'' was a terse comment from the chairman of the committee of retired bureaucrats and senior government officials appointed by the Union Home Minister to make recommendations for retaining the character of police as a law enforcing body.``Today transfer is being frequently used as an effective tool by those in power to deal with honest police officers. It is very unfortunate that seeking gratification through lucrative postings, which earlier was confined to junior ranks, has now creeped up to the senior ranks,'' remarked Ribeiro.He attributed the deteriorating law and order situation to the failure of the judicial process system. ``Police is an organisation of people entrusted with the investigation of crime. Dogged by constant interference by the politicians and lack of expeditious trials in the present judicial system, the police can barely function freely in such an atmosphere,'' he added.Making a dig at the alliance government, he said the law and order scene in Mumbai was ``very very difficult''.
